Subtraction in Action
Reducing your strategic focus to only a few key projects is the best way to accelerate your progress. But while it sounds good, doing it for real is hard. […]
To The Trenches
Leaders need to know customers and front-line workers well, and to deeply understand their reality. But usually, they are safely distant from that experience. As individuals, a new year invites […]
Say No (More)
If you want to accelerate your progress toward unprecedented results, start saying no. Say no during the strategy off-site and say no after it’s over. Pet Priorities Every […]
Stuff You (Should) Already Know
Some plain truths about humans that organizations pretend are myths —to the detriment of sales and souls. I recently ran across an article about how little attention we pay […]
Metrics Over Mission
When results are poor, check that everyone's north star is the customer’s experience rather than the scorecard. because focusing on the score takes you away from customers. And of course, that defeats your entire goal.
Too Close to the Sun
One of the oddest ways that companies fail is by becoming victims of their own strengths. In other words, the very thing that generates competitive advantage morphs into a problem. […]
You Are Here
You may know strategically exactly how and where you’re taking your organization. But that doesn’t mean everyone on your team knows how to get there. Everyone who works in an […]
Being an Extraordinary Leader
Leaders come in many varieties. Anyone over the age of 25 has already learned that through experience. The awful bosses stay with us in the form of cautionary tales. But […]
Sometimes It’s Not the Execution
In case of bad results, we blame the execution. My client had what we would certainly call a stretch goal. Actually, more like a Big Very Hairy Super-Audacious Goal, to […]
If Culture Eats Strategy, What Eats Culture?
Everyone knows the line: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” It’s usually attributed to Peter Drucker, although for the life of me I can’t find any evidence he said it. But […]