We’re often more comfortable with what we know than what we don’t know. And therein lies the problem. It’s the adage in play, “The devil you know versus the devil you don’t know.” This plagues leaders’ thinking who have tremendous difficulty letting go of business practices or directions, which often struggle to embrace new ideas [...]
Most companies' leadership development performance suffers from an inability to motivate team members; uninspiring concepts that are expected to be implemented; ineffective rigid organizational structures; Start/Stop/Continue decisions made by very few executives in the absence of those that are commissioned to carry them out; and too many minor projects in the pipeline. The result is [...]
In a crisis, everyone tends to focus on the here and now, and I get that. It makes sense to put out the fire in your house before you begin designing a new addition! Perhaps though in your organization, there aren’t any fires, and if that’s the case, congratulations! But if you have been planning on [...]
I became a CEO in 1981, running my firm after working for a dynamic marketing communications firm in Chicago. At that time, there was a growth roadmap that the majority of all corporations followed, and their consultants all knew what they were and how to help clients with them. Examples included writing a business plan [...]
What do most people do when they are struggling with a problem or situation? They talk with those they are closest to and who they think are the smartest people they know. I have often done this for years while running my business. The problem with this approach to problem-solving is at the heart of [...]
Confidence can be defined as the ability to meet life’s challenges head-on with and inspire others to do the same. This same definition can be applied to the type of leadership we all need, not just from our leaders, but from our team members as well. Fear is often caused by the thought or feeling [...]
Photo by chuttersnap Jim Collins wrote about a bus that has been quoted over and over by many, and here I go, too! His quote first appeared in his best-selling book, Good to Great, “If we get the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats, and the wrong people off [...]
Photo by Jonas Lee The need to innovate is now a must-do for all organizations that would like a bright and positive future. The alternative is maintaining your status quo and hoping that no one finds your organization and decides to automate your business out of existence. Mainstream business analysts are currently writing that the [...]
Photo by chuttersnap CEOs today know things move at the speed of light. They also know the faster things go, the more chance there is for mistakes and miscommunications if their organization is not well defined and aligned. Meeting goals remain paramount to every smart leader, of course. Here are some insights we have learned [...]
The way business is managed today and how much faster things are innovated has changed the type of race you need to run. While marathon thinking has been in place for decades, I think it has been replaced by sprints that allow an organization to rethink and test their strategies quickly. Consider Chicago in 1981. [...]