Category: Blog
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20. It’s Plateau Point and the Donkeys’ Butts (when it comes to Strategic Planning)
Many years ago, my son and I were hiking in the Grand Canyon when we learned a valuable lesson about hiking, life, and for me… years later… strategic planning. I’m serious.
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19. “You Lied to Me”: The Perils of M&A
I recently saw that a former colleague from a company I once led posted on social media that he had fallen victim to an affiliation that was not accurately described to him as it was taking shape. Since I was the one responsible for messaging that affiliation, I took his comment as a blow. And…
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18. Seeing the Invisible
Vision. Every organization should have one and every leader need to be able to articulate his or hers. But not all “visions” are the same. According to Jonathan Swift, “Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.” So, do you help others see the invisible?
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17. The Era of the “Context Curious”
When I was starting out as a young and relatively low-in-the-chain-of-command employee, I was highly focused on the task at hand. I was clear about my responsibilities and how to be successful and I didn’t worry about a great deal more than that. If someone back then had asked me how the company I was…
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16. When Conflict Avoidance IS the Elephant in the Room
“Conflict avoided is conflict multiplied.” Most people don’t relish having to make tough decisions but sometimes putting this off can cause more harm downstream. Organizational culture flows from the personality of the key leaders of the organizations, most notably the CEO’s. If that CEO is conflict avoidant… then that may prove to be the biggest…
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15. Negative Budget Variances
Negative budget variances? Sounds like a boring and low level topic for a podcast such as this one… but how you handle them: (1) says a lot about you as a leader and (2) has the very real potential to positively transform your organization.
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14. When Legacy Planning is Really Just Cashing Out
I go on and on about non-profit, mission driven organizations and sometimes receive friendly (usually) comments about how non-profits and for profits are much more alike than not. Sure, ok. But there are some critical ways they’re different. Today, I talk about one of them.
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13. Like a Drawer Full of Pens
For organizations in trouble and working to launch an improvement initiative, the diagnostic phase is critical. Sometimes, however, that is a very difficult task… partially due to the fact that neglect, conflict avoidance, politics, lack of clarity, or indecision created a mess that is difficult to sort through. I liken this to a “drawer full…
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12. We’ll Fix It With a Reorg!
Something this is a reasonable and effective strategy. But beware, sometimes it isn’t.
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11. When it’s Time to BE MORE DIRECT!
Sometimes you have to walk lightly and sometimes you have to pound the table. This episode is for those times when you find yourself wondering whether it’s time to pound the table.
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