Our leadership and management focus on productivity ignores the critical need for us to move strategically. For most of us, strategy is a series of incremental moves around a long-standing theme. Today’s world demands that we find a way to punctuate equilibrium or we risk going out of business one efficient day at a time.
In a recent discussion with a potential literary agent for my book proposal for, “Level-Up—The Career Guide to Surviving and Thriving in an Era of Change,” the agent suggested that books built around the theme of “change” were unlikely to sell. That perspective is preposterous. Learning to help our organizations navigate change while constantly leveling up in our own careers is a core challenge that all of us face in our professional lives. We need more help on this, not less, regardless of the views of publishers. Here’s why…
Crises happen and the right top leadership and organizational response is essential for survival. Unfortunately, too many of these events catch our firms and top leaders unprepared. A starting point is to adopt a standard of required behaviors in the face of a crisis. Consider these “10 Commandments for Acceptable Corporate Crisis Behaviors” as a starting point.
Legacy beliefs exert a powerful force in our organizations and in our own lives. When those beliefs no longer match the external reality, our personal and business strategies come crashing down. Yet some leaders and professionals find a way to break away from the ties that bind.
When we overweight the value of experience in hiring situations or in navigating strategy, we increase our risk of failure. The challenge we face as leaders and managers is to imbue ourselves and our cultures with a sense of curiosity and the means and confidence to experiment.
Getting strategy right is hard work. Most management teams struggle and many play with the tools of strategy, but never finish anything. Teams that get it right share some common traits, including…
Structure is a powerful management tool when developed carefully and focused on aligning your team’s superpowers with the big opportunities.
When faced with a world of constant change, “getting good at dealing with next” is essential for survival as well as success. Part of the process involves rewiring our brains to view change as opportunity and adventure.
Too often, we hesitate to make a decision or take action because we are insecure and uncomfortable over the possibility that we might be wrong. Instead of waiting indefinitely for a perfect certainty that will never arrive, give yourself permission to take action. Life is lived one moment and one action at a time.
The acquisition of Dollar Shave Club by Unilever highlights the need for all of us in our businesses to look beyond our traditional approaches. We focus intensely on what we do and how we do it and we fail to see simple alternatives that upstarts can easily exploit at our expense.
