How Great Leaders Navigate Strategy
Here is a list of what my best clients do: Understand that your commitment to the strategy is on the line everyday. Lead strategy formulation
Here is a list of what my best clients do: Understand that your commitment to the strategy is on the line everyday. Lead strategy formulation
When I work with a client on organization structure, the question often comes up: “Should we design the job around the person we have, or
In my consulting and coaching, I usually see clear distinctions between upper and lower levels of management on a number of factors including how time
I’ve met, observed, and worked with hundreds of leaders — only a couple dozen or so who I’ve considered to be extraordinary. While they’ve differed
During the many years I’ve been working with companies, the characteristics of high-performing and ineffective organizations is stark. In high-performing companies, people talk about the
This newsletter is entitled “On the Same Page.” It can refer to many things including an orchestra whose members are following the score, or the
If you want to establish strong leadership power and influence, learn what it means to establish “referent” power. It is far more effective than power
To dramatically grow your business, you’ve got to execute. Even it you’ve got a great strategy, how it is executed makes all the difference. I’ve
Over my career I’ve worked with at least a thousand executives, including hundreds of CEOs and presidents. The best ones aren’t so concerned with making
Think about it…when people are in conflict they are stimulated, passionate, and energized. That’s what you want — not passive harmony and predictable routines. Instead
Just like productivity, quality and employee retention, Employee engagement is an end result, a byproduct, of doing a number of things right. Instead of acting
Lately, I’ve worked with a several leaders who admit that they micromanage and want to stop. The problem is that they don’t know how to
Of course increased revenue, profits, and market share are the real outcomes, but here are three ways you can tell if your organization is focused
Benchmarking is a tried-and-true approach for operational processes, but it should not be used to determine how best to structure or lead an organization. Yeah,
When people are micro-managed, they become self-conscious, intimidated, mistake avoiding, and fearful. They wait for orders, subdue their creativity, and rarely make suggestions. That’s not
I’ve seen managers and executives who seem to be obsessed with looking for what their people are doing wrong or mistakes they’ve made. And I’ve
Last week I wrote about key elements of restructuring. Here are a few more practical tips from my years of working with scores of organizations
Practical Tips for Successful Organization Restructuring If you’re doing an acquisition, merging, wanting to be more market or customer-focused, or restructuring to cut costs, the
There’s a lot of talk about innovation these days. Much of it is academic and lacks practical application. Here are three important tactics from my
Last week I attended M.I.T’s graduation to see my son receive his Ph.D. in Aeronautic and Astronautic Engineering. The guest speaker was Megan Smith, Chief
Strategy should be exciting, challenging, and stimulating. It should elicit the very best thinking of your key people, get the creative juices flowing, build enthusiasm,
Gone are the days of big binders with detailed projections, economic analyses, and all the other stuff that is old even before it is put
I am working with three companies on their cultures, and regularly find misconceptions about what it takes to change or strengthen corporate culture. Additionally, while
From my observations over 30 years of consulting, coaching, and executive work: The best leaders know that people respond to excellent managers, challenging and stimulating
90% of managers believe they are good or excellent communicators, while the people they’re leading put that number at about 20%. That is pretty much
My most successful clients are very good at aligning individual goals with strategic intent so that everybody is actively working to achieve the company’s strategy
My wife has a large garden which produces an abundance of vegetables we eat throughout the year — we still have garlic, beans, hot peppers,
I don’t know where this came from, but I hear way too many people talking about deliverables. Maybe it’s because a deliverable is better than
What obstacles are in your growth path? Most of my clients are pushing hard for growth right now. If that’s you too, I have one
Back in my college days I used to hitchhike the 300 miles to school. One day I hitched a ride with a couple. Enroute, the
There is a great story about Herb Kelleher at Southwest Airlines where “Fun” is one of the primary values. Apparently a customer didn’t like that
The next time you form a team, consider this: While both supervisor-led teams and self-managed teams can be just as productive, there is a one
When working with leaders to change people’s behaviors, I’ve found the most effective approach is to appeal to rational self-interest and use carrots rather than
We learn steadily, every day. And good companies do too. The best companies have hundreds or thousands of employees gaining more knowledge and working better
In response to one of my recent emails concerning commitment, several clients asked, “So what are the leadership steps to getting commitment?” Here’s one of
Long gone are the thick binders GE used decades ago to create detailed plans for the next five years. Even the approaches pioneered in the
One of the highest concerns of presidents I talk with these days is how to create an organization that is more proactive in sensing external
Getting consensus is good — but commitment is essential. I have seen leaders who spend all their time getting their team to reach consensus, but
It’s the fallacy that if someone understands the theory, or the practice, or simply what to do, that he or she will do it. We
I like to ask CEOs what their business strategy is. Sometimes I get a crisp, clear response, but often the answer either is a bunch
Instilling accountability is very important. It is the fast track to commitment, performance, and people development. Unfortunately, way too many leaders, managers, and supervisors see