Make Top Team Meetings Effective
Developing a highly-functioning top team is not easy. It takes the right combination of people, agreement on a clear direction, the ability to interact effectively,
Yearly Archives: 2017
Year: 2017
A Great Time for Recognition
This is a good time of year to recognize exceptional performance of one or a few key individuals. Consider a lump-sum cash award, especially if
Corporate Renewal Best Practice
Every organization needs to ensure continuous learning and increasing overall competency. In addition, younger employees are anxious to take on more responsibility, while senior employees
Recognition and Thanks
Take the time to walk around this week and thank your people for the work they do, the ideas they surface, and the opportunities they
Leadership: Your Mileage May Vary
When working with clients on implementing strategy, accelerating change, or improving performance, the actual results they achieve can vary greatly. Some clients make good steady
Making Relationships Productive
To be successful, managers and leaders need good relationships with their peers, subordinates and bosses. Yet, I usually see less-than-effective relationships when working with a
The First Key to Exponential Growth
If you want exponential growth, you need to have a very clear picture of the business you want to have in the future: What will
Harassment: What CEOs can do about it
The long-time Weinstein abuse and harassment was both widespread and known in the entertainment industry and beyond. It was an “open secret” that at least
3 Key Elements of Teamwork
One of the most important factors in achieving high performance is teamwork. That’s true for two reasons: First, because organizations exist because their overall mission
What leaders can learn from Wells Fargo, Uber, and Weinstein
Corporate culture is in the news due to the likes of Wells Fargo, Uber, and the Harvey Weinstein Company. CEOs, through their own behavior, set
Is Your Strategy Sustainable?
Business strategy is all about having a distinctive position in your market, and making that distinctiveness sustainable. A distinctiveness that can be easily replicated is
What's Your Niche?
To grow your business and improve profits stop thinking of your company as one of many competitors in a broad market, and define a narrower
Operating at the CEO Level
The CEO has the responsibility to think strategically about the company and its business. This is a two-fold challenge: The first part is to extricate
Why You Need to "Think Different"
Exactly 20 years ago, Apple came up with a “Think Different” marketing theme. In part it was a rejoinder to IBM’s “Think,” but it resonated
Do Your Company Values Do Anything For You?
I’ve seen a lot of companies with fairly generic values posted in conference rooms and other work spaces. You know, values such as “Fairness,” “Teamwork,”
Escaping Parkinson's Law
Parkinson’s Law states that work will expand to fill the time allotted to it. That’s why meetings fill the time scheduled even when the content
How Does Your Business Make Money?
Don’t laugh. I find that many key employees, often including managers of functions, really don’t understand the whole business and what it takes both to
When Self-Improvement Really Begins
I work with CEOs, presidents, and high-level executives to improve their effectiveness. While I have made exceptions, as a rule I won’t take a client
New Senior Leaders Must Change These to be Effective
These Have to Change When You Become an Executive Leader When a person is promoted to a leadership position as a CEO, COO, president, or
Top 7 Obstacles Getting in the Way of Your Strategy
Over the past 30 years, I’ve worked on strategy and strategy execution with the senior management of Fortune 1000 companies, mid-market companies, and Inc 5000
Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
Professional race car drivers have their eyes well down the track in anticipation and readiness. So do the very best equestrians who immediately upon completing
Take a Lesson From The Beatles
In 1966, The Beatles decided not to tour or do live concerts anymore. They made the decision primarily because they did not feel they were
When Development Stalls at the Top
The need to continually develop knowledge and skills is important throughout an organization. You’ve got to have people who are capable of handling new and
When to Stop Investing in Poor Performers
Investing in people to develop and become better performers is important — as long as you are getting a good return on the investment. But
What's Your Competitive Advantage?
Business strategy is all about competitive advantage. An brilliant strategy is be both unique and sustainable. If it’s not unique, then you’re simply running the
On Getting Good Talent
There is a shortage of good talent for many key positions. It may seem counterintuitive, but it is imperative at times like this that you
How's the Climate in Your Organization?
Back before culture surveys, attitude surveys, and engagement surveys, we used to have climate surveys, which were a way to measure the “climate” in an
Senior Management Incentives in the News
Strategic incentives are a good idea at the top. But getting everyone one in a large company on the same page is difficult, and it
10 Ways to Eliminate Mediocrity in Your Organization
An organization that accepts mediocrity is a haven for under performers, and very frustrating for high performers. Here are ten ideas I found in my
Are You Enabling Mediocrity in Your Organization?
Mediocrity is bad for a number of reasons. Workplaces that allow mediocrity also de-motivate high performers. And tolerating mediocrity reduces an organization’s energy and productivity,
Creating an Anticipatory Set
When something bad is about to happen, people will get tense. When beginning a competition, people will become focused. When preparing for a happy occasion,
Powerful Ideas to Improve Your Leadership
From many years of coaching executives, here are five pointers for becoming a better leader: Hire people who are better than you in their discipline;
The Big Disconnect
Here it is: Most people have above average reviews, but the company is under-performing. Sure, it could be the case that everyone is working hard,
Do This Before the End of February
It’s February and you’ve got most of the year still ahead. See if you can answer these questions clearly and briefly: What is your strategy?
Three Imperatives of Profitable Growth
From over 30 years of working with organizations of all sizes and in many industries on improving business outcomes especially growth and profits: The most
Beware Organizational Arsonists
An arsonist is someone who finds little things to pick on, to call attention to, and to question. They start small “fires” here and there
What's Your Point?
Many people tell me that they like my On the Same Page emails because they are brief, to-the-point, and practical. I try to do the