Does anyone know WHY you’re in business? Wanna tell ’em?
http://youtu.be/qp0HIF3SfI4 Simon Sinek is one of the speakers at Leadercast 2014 taking place on ONE DAY ONLY on Friday, May 9. His TED talk, "How Leaders Inspire Action" is the 3rd…
Featured Posts in the category of Strategy
Leadership Obstacles: No execution? No results!
If the execution of a company’s plans is an avowed priority, critical to the success of both the CEO and the business, why aren’t CEOs spending enough time on it to make it successful?
Why is it that every time the Conference Board surveys CEOs to identify their Top Ten Challenges, “consistent execution of strategy” or “excellence in execution” is invariably cited as being in the top two or three “greatest concerns”?
Yet, when CEOs are asked about their greatest disappointments or failures, they routinely list their company’s inability to execute?
Conundrum … Mystery … Enigma
Huh?
How is it that a subject among the top three goals of most CEOs is the very one where the CEO has the least amount of success? Is this simply a conundrum tucked inside a mystery hidden inside an enigma … or can we sort out some of this ambiguity? (more…)
Leadership Lessons: Hope Springs Eternal … but it’s not enough!
For most of us, this is the time of the year when hope springs eternal.
For most of us, this is the time of the year when hope springs eternal.We’re revved up for an exciting new year, determined to change all of the things that didn’t work last year so we can pound the ball out of the park in 2012.
Nothing wrong with any of that. Commitment, momentum, focus … these are the energies that will fuel our engine and help us jumpstart 2012 with the vigor and rigor that we need to make this year the most successful ever.
Does your gum lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight?
Yet, like most New Year’s resolutions we’ve made, the “gum loses its flavor on the bedpost overnight”.
We soon discover that it’s much easier to start than to finish.
We struggle to keep the engine stoked with the same energy that propelled us into the New Year.
We begin to feel some of the air already coming out of the tires, and begin to wonder … “where did that new-found energy go”?
What’s that whimpering sound?
It comes back to that whimpering sound of “hope springs eternal.” (more…)
Spitshine Your Mission so it’s Crystal Clear
Do People REALLY understand what you do?
Does your company have a Vision/Mission Statement that you clearly understand … and everyone knows who it belongs to?
Last week, we talked about the proposition that Leadership = Communication and I shared a communication matrix with you to help you start on a Communication Action Plan.
There’s no doubt that communication stands tall in the pantheon of business leadership, and we all probably think we’re pretty good at it.
We can walk, talk, dictate, speak and even string together a few intelligible sentences.
We chat with our troops, talk to our customers and vendors, share information with colleagues and shareholders.
We hold meetings, BBQ’s and off-sites to talk about what’s going on.
We’re all pretty good at communication . . . or are we? (more…)
Do you have a Battle Plan – or is Hope your only Strategy?
Most of us weren’t around during World War II … but D-Day was the largest amphibious invasion of all time, with over 250,000 troops and 15,000 ships landing along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast on June 6, 1944. Luck? Accident? … or the result of rigorous strategic planning and project management?
Did General Eisenhower, the Allied Supreme Commander, lead this effort without any planning?
Of course not, and even if our business plans aren’t quite as extensive, we know (deep down, we know for sure) that we need some sort of an organized planning process to build a successful business.
[pullquote]“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower, (American 34th President (1953-61). 1890-1969)[/pullquote]
We need to make sure that everyone’s headed in the same direction … that we don’t ignore the obstacles or overlook the great opportunities on the road ahead … or don’t squander valuable resources chasing rainbows.
That’s why you should listen to our 5-part podcast series that demystifies planning and describes a simple discipline to get you started.
Do I really have to plan to have a successful business?
I find myself using General Eisenhower’s phrase repeatedly for at least two reasons … it’s true … and (more…)