Learning from Facebook executive departures
The departures of key executives from Facebook last week are the latest over the past 18 months. They highlight a number of key lessons in
strategy implementation
Tag: strategy implementation
Avoid Accountability Gaps and Overlaps
I saw a professional soccer game on the big screen at a Mexican restaurant last night. I always admire how really good soccer players know
The Implementation Advantage
Strategy fails when it’s not implemented well – when it’s not connected to what goes on in people’s jobs day-to-day. You need to connect it.
The Sharply-Focused Organization
Strategy formulation and planning are really two different things. And of course the value isn’t in spending three days setting strategy. The point isn’t walls
Is Your Organization Aligned with Your Strategy?
Make sure your organization is aligned with your strategy. It’s not enough to communicate the strategy. Two examples: Example #1: I was called with an
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
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
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
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;
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
Turning Culture Into Competitive Advantage
Oops! In last Monday’s email, I wrote that a 1000-foot runway (implementation plan) would be insufficient for a beautiful jet (corporate strategy) that requires a runway
Do You Have Enough Runway for Your Strategy?
My client called me to help improve company performance. The strategy they had developed was beautiful, like a new 747, capable of taking them where
Why You Need Your Own Best Practices
There are very, very few companies that have been great over a long time. It’s as if they were able to assemble an organization, a
5 Key Levers for Successful Strategy Execution
Most strategies fail to achieve their objectives, not because the strategies are faulty, but because the implementation is weak. It’s like building a beautiful jet
Ten Reasons Why Strategies Fail
There isn’t a strategy. The strategy is distributed in 3-ring binders, everyone celebrates getting that done and thinks the strategy will implement itself. The strategy
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
Strategies to Accelerate Company Growth
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
3 Signs of a Successful Strategic Planning Process
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
Practical Tips for Successful Organization Restructuring
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
The Best Answer to "What's Your Strategy?"
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
People Don't Hate Change
Leaders will sometimes tell me that people hate change. But it’s not true. Nearly all of my work involves some amount of organization change. Sometimes
The most important factor in successful organizational change
Most attempts at organization change fail. Even if the change is eventually successful, the cost is often far higher than necessary. Those costs include complaints
6 Ways Your Board Can Help Your Strategy Succeed
An important factor in implementing your strategy is getting your board involved. Yet many of the boards I work with spend way too much time
The problem with improving innovation
For years I’ve helped companies improve innovation in a number of ways, and I continue to find that innovation itself is widely misunderstood. Innovation is
What Apple knows about communications
I attended my high school reunion over the weekend and it reminded me that the most powerful communication between people is a shared experience. It
How to get an organization working as a whole
In the 1991 Gulf War, the U.S. military attempted to “synchronize” all forces–getting them all to work together in order to concentrate forces. While it
How Strong is Your Leadership Pipeline?
Recently I gave a talk at the New York Bankers Association Senior Management Conference about how to sustain a high-performance organization. One key to sustainable
What leaders can learn from a champion equestrian
I find it fascinating to watch excellent coaches and I saw a master at work over the weekend. It was a horse eventing clinic run
Strategy and The Final Mile
In the cable industry, the final mile is connecting the cable system to customers’ homes. It is the most costly part of the entire system,
What Duke Ellington can teach business about innovation
Every year, for the past 14 years, I have read a biography of a famous musician or composer. As I read each book, I listen
How successful leaders implement strategy
Last month I wrote about the three key factors of successful strategy implementation: A distinctive strategy, effective leadership, and a sharply-focused organization. Of the three,
How to Create a Compelling Strategic Vision
An important leadership task is to create a strategic vision that is compelling and engaging. This is enormously important to building accountability and a culture
How to Create a Distinctive Business Strategy
A key to market leadership, strategic planning, and strategic management is to have a distinctive strategy. Organizations with the same strategy are forever competing on
What is Strategy Implementation?
Most strategies fail to achieve their objectives. The problem is rarely the strategy and usually a weak implementation. Successful implementation requires far more than an
Leading Change & Keeping Everyone On-Board — Navigating Corporate Change
In business strategy, navigating change is of paramount importance. Every strategic plan requires changes in how the organization must perform, and no strategy is implemented
Strategy and the overly-stressed staff
Just in the past week: A director in a nationwide software implementation company told me how her people were deeply stressed by overly-demanding work and
Leadership Skills For Strategy — Navigating Corporate Strategy
Business strategy is dependent on leadership skills to guide development and successfully implement. These leadership skills focus the organization on the strategy, continually energize people,
Strategic Position — Knowing Where You Are When Navigating Corporate Strategy
A key to business strategy implementation is navigation. Knowing where you are, how far you have traveled, and how much further you must go. On
Determining Your Strategy — Navigating Corporate Strategy
In business strategy, determining your strategy is setting the course to achieve the vision and strategic objectives. After setting your mission and vision, you need
Navigating Corporate Strategy: Start Your Strategy at the End
Business strategy begins with mission and vision–the destination. The strategy, and how you implement it, depend on knowing where you are going and what you
Navigating Corporate Strategy: Get Your Terms Right
In leading strategy, it’s important to have working definitions of the terms. Different people have different definitions for words such as “goal” and “objective,” and
How to Be Twice as Good: The 1% Solution
My mentor, consultant and author Alan Weiss, has a 1% principle. It goes like this: If you (or your organization) improve by just 1% each
Navigating Corporate Strategy Videos
Here is the first of my new 8-part video series highlighting key elements of corporate strategy and tactics, and comparing them to sailing strategy and
The Greatest Danger of Success
It’s inertia – it’s the belief that it will continue forever, or at least a long time. Success makes one feel cocky and self-important. And
The Final Mile in Strategy Implementation
In the cable industry, the final mile is connecting the cable system to customers’ homes. It is the most costly part of the entire system,
Why Strategies Fail
Some corporate strategies fail because the strategy itself is flawed or non-existent. For example, former Kodak CEO Kay Whitmore told me in 2000 that no
Before communicating a new strategy or change, do this
When launching a new strategy or change, the last thing you want to do is announce it to the full organization. That’s why major capital
Navigating Corporate Strategy — Introduction
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxYnDKLv0eg&w=560&h=315]
How Management Ideas Get Bastardized
Microsoft jettisoned its version of “rank and yank” last week; a practice of forced rankings that resulted in internal power struggles and unhealthy competition. Leave
Why Your Performance Reviews REDUCE Performance
One doesn’t drive a car by looking in the rearview mirror, so why do that with performance reviews? When a manager emphasizes mistakes, shortfall, weaknesses,
Why Employee Engagement Fads Don't Work–And What Does Work
Here’s what we know from decades of research: You cannot motivate anyone; they must motivate themselves. Extrinsic motivation (commands and incentives) is weak and fickle;
How to Ensure the Success of Your Strategy
Whether you are politically for or against Obamacare, there can be no dispute about the implementation failure surrounding the $400 million website portal that was
Plans vs. Planning
We had intended to sail across Lake Ontario into Canada last week, but the weather and waves were not good, so we changed course for
Your strategy is worthless…unless it's implemented
Here’s how it often goes: The strategy session is done. The new strategy is compiled in binders and distributed to senior management. The binders make
6 Keys for Leading Successful Change
Let’s say you need to change your strategy, make an acquisition, introduce a new IT system, or any other important change. How can you set
Improvisation: In Music and in Business
Many of the famous classical composers were excellent at improvisation. Mozart for example, would ask an audience for a few musical notes, then sit at
Why Your Strategy Depends on Talent
The success of your strategy depends heavily on the quality of your talent, particularly in key positions. Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, says the best
What is Strategy Implementation: A Quick Overview
Most strategies fail to achieve their objectives. The problem is rarely the strategy and usually a weak implementation. Successful implementation requires far more than an
Decision Paralysis
During détente back in the days of Gorbachev, a group of Russian diplomats was taken to an American supermarket. Contrary to the expectations of the
Forbes blog on accountability
My Forbes.net blog post with Harvard Business Review and Forbes.com writer Dorie Clark last week addressed the two core elements of successfully implementing a strategy
The Importance of Reducing Drag
I’m catching up on all the sailing magazines that have piled up since Fall, and preparing for another sailing season. My boat is ready to
Strategies Get Implemented by People
Formulating a new strategy can be hard work, but it’s not nearly as difficult as implementing a strategy. That’s because implementing the strategy requires mobilizing
Not Lovin' It So Much
McDonalds told franchisees last month that “service is broken.” Rude employees, slow service, and a chaotic environment don’t lead to a good customer experience. No
How to Create a Compelling Vision
How to Create a Compelling Vision Vision statements should be compelling. They should paint a clear, vivid description of the organization in the future —
A Day in the Life
In Philadelphia over the weekend I saw a Beatles tribute band backed up by the Philadelphia Pops. The concert was great, but what really struck
The Sequestration and Leadership (or not)
The sequestration issue is the latest in a series of economic/governmental crises that have marked the current administration’s tenure. This blog is about strategy implementation,
Leadership Succession
Having worked on CEO succession plans and processes for a number of organizations, I was intrigued this week when Pope Benedict announced that he was
Strategy and the Customer
The doctor appointment was for 3:30. I was still waiting at 5:00. They said the truck would be ready in an hour. An hour later
Samsung and Apple's Resiliency
Samsung is testing Apple’s ability to respond post-Steve Jobs. It is a reminder that every strategy must adapt to change and that a company’s resiliency
Is Your Team On the Same Page?
Don’t assume that a team shares a common direction. Yes, they may agree that the strategy sounds good, but they’re not going to effectively implement
What the Doctor Said
“Are you exercising?” he asked. “Yes, sure, I’m going on walks around the farm,” I said. “By exercising, I mean 30-40 minutes, 4 times each
Fear of Communication
There is fear deep in the heart of many organizations. It has become worse over recent years due to the economy, but it’s not new.
The Myth of Consensus — Part 2
My message last week was that consensus decision making is a mask for weak leadership – either because the leader is afraid to make a