The Unintended Consequences of Indecision Issue 87, December 22, 2022 Should I stay or should I go? Should we pivot or stay the course? Are my next-gens going to quietly quit? How are we going to make more money in such a disruptive economy? Is everyone going to agree with me? Am I going to be held accountable? Do I even need to be accountable? And why is everything so damned hard all the time? If you are a leader,…
It Was the Best of Times …and Maybe the Worst Issue 86, December 15, 2022 It’s that time of year for stories. We’ve all got them: holiday merriment, missteps, and mayhem. All the stories that we remember and pass on from our portfolio of family and personal legends. We have a few stories as well. In our new book, The Truth About Transformation, we have an entire section devoted to dispatches (aka case studies) that are some of the most…
Uncertainty and Disruption Issue 78, Oct 20, 2022 You know something’s happening, but you don’t know what it is. Your competition is edging ahead. Your stakeholders are ambivalent. Your workforce is listless. Your management team is exhausted. Nothing that worked before is working now. You’re not alone. High performance in disruptive markets puts everyone to the test and on edge. Old strategies don’t work because conditions have changed. Managing a remote workforce with traditional management tactics doesn’t work because they’re…
Too Much Choice Makes Brand Loyalty an Endangered Species Issue 77: Oct 13, 2022 There’s a sea change taking place in social media and streaming platforms which should be a red flag for organizations that offer memberships, subscriptions or use devices that seek to deliver continuous value via consumer consumption, leading to rich sources of recurring revenue. Members Only Membership and subscription have become all the rage over the past five years across many businesses. The continual drips of monthly…
An Elephant? What Elephant? Where Is the Elephant? Decision-Making: Actions, Influences, Impacts and Unintended Consequences Issue 75: Sept 29, 2022 In June of this year, we published an article about unintended consequences and how many organizations, governments and individuals are blindsided by not anticipating the future. Technically, unintended consequences are outcomes of actions in the immediate past or in current times that have unforeseen impacts or influences on the near or far future. Consider a line of dominoes or a…
Assumptions and Consequences Issue 74: Sept 22, 2022 Don’t make any assumptions! How many times have we heard this – at work and at home? Yet, we make assumptions all the time. And our assumptions are typically personal speculations that have broad implications. We assume that our workforce is achieving its potential. We assume that leadership is making decisions that benefit the entire organization, including its workers. We assume that our customers are pleased with our products and services and…
What Role Do You Play? Issue 72: Sept 8, 2022 Here’s a real-life scenario. Recently there has been friction and dissension within a management team. Managers are struggling to help manage a disruptive economy, guide strategy in an ambiguous marketplace, rein in a headstrong CEO that is resisting authority, and manage multiple powerplays among members who believe they have all the answers or who are afraid to reveal themselves and what they don’t know. This is not a fictional drama…
Targeted Transformation Issue 68: August 11, 2022 What’s the default approach to organizational pivots and transformation? Popular opinion is that technology will lead the way and the workforce will follow. It’s a seductive, but majorly misguided notion. First and foremost, it’s the human factor that will make or break any strategic plan. And that’s the focus of our new book, The Truth about Transformation. Our playbook takes a deep focus on what you need to know, the questions you should…
To Be Forewarned Is to Be Forearmed Issue 64: July 14, 2022 The savvy, experienced executives are curious, informed, and naturally anticipate the future, not catch up to it. That usually requires these individuals to step out of their comfort zones and confront ambiguity and change head-on. They support their teams and coach them to think critically and stretch to maintain high performance, both individually and for the organization. This may sound obvious, but in our experience, we have encountered…
Breaking News: Important Privacy Changes Issue 63: July 7, 2022 As we mentioned in our Privacy Regulation Update: The Doors Are Locking on User Data newsletter last week, over the next two weeks, we will share a curated list of 2021/22 articles to assist you and your organization in conducting some deep and critical thinking on how you collect, manage and leverage data. We will also review tips on how you adapt to the limitations and restrictions set in place…