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The Disruption
We All Need Clarity
If your organization is focused on obscurity over clarity, whether intentionally or not, your “A” player employees are vulnerable. There is a looming talent crunch. As we start to emerge from COVID, demand is increasing, and many are scrambling to fill positions to meet that demand. Headhunters and recruiters are soon going to be calling your key “A” employees. Have you been giving them a reason to stay?
Not Another **** Meeting
As Leonard Bernstein put it so well, “To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time.” Your meetings can be shorter, more fruitful, and engaging, with better outcomes for the organization, employees, and managers. It’s time to examine your meeting rhythms and how you set meeting agendas. This week, I break down daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual, and individual meeting rhythms, with sample agendas for each.
Is Your Company Scalable?
Let’s start here: Why should your company be scalable at all? If your business is scalable, you have business freedom–freedom with time, money, and options. Many business leaders get stuck in the “owner’s trap”, where you need to do everything yourself. Sound familiar? If you want a scalable business that gives you freedom, you need to be intentional about what you sell, and how.
Are you ready for the Talent Crunch?
Companies are gearing up to hire. Unfortunately, many are competing within the same talent pool. Some experts are currently predicting a strong economic recovery starting in May or June. But as the economy booms, there is going to be fierce competition for talent. How will you fare in the looming talent crisis? Your organization should be creating a plan, now, so you can attract the talent you need in the year ahead.
The “Flaw of Averages” Causes Havoc for Businesses
Discover how understanding the limitations of averages and embracing probabilistic thinking can improve decision-making and risk management in business.
What is Your Strategy, In a Sentence?
If you are banking on the vaccine returning us all to “normal” quite quickly, in the famous words of Dr. Akande, “Hope is not a strategy.” Your organization should be preparing a well-defined strategy for 2021 and beyond. Once you have this strategy, the ultimate question: can you clearly articulate it in one sentence? Distilling your strategy into a single sentence is a powerful tool, both for your legacy and your team effectiveness. Not sure where to start? I offer a plug-in formula to set up your strategy sentence.
Character Matters
“It’s easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than it is to hold to them 98% of the time.” — Clayton Christiansen. I have often written about the importance of a company’s Core Values. That’s because no matter what words you may have chosen as values, your organization’s Core Values are on display in how leadership and employees actually behave. As I’ve said before, how you have acted in the last twelve months will define your career for the next decade. Your character, and your company’s character, matters.
New Year’s Resolutions, Once More Unto the Breach
The holidays have been even quieter than normal, which has given me plenty of time to reflect on my New Year’s resolutions. Looking at 2021, I decided to use a completely new approach to lay out my goals. The result of my new approach? A highly-detailed, accountable, actually achievable plan for the next year (I think). Wondering what this process looks like?
To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate, that is the Question
What do your employees, peers, and leadership team think of the COVID-19 vaccine? Will you require the vaccine, or will you let employees make individual decisions? As a leader, you need to steer the discussion about vaccines in your organization with your Core Values in mind. No matter what strategy your organization takes, the most important factor is going to be how you communicate your decision.
3 Ways You Could be Undermining Your Core Values
Can you answer “Why does your organization exist? What are your core values?” Great. Now, would your latest entry-level employee give a similar answer? How about someone who has been at your company for a year? Your core values give your organization a guiding mission. Many organizations pay this idea lip service, but their true commitment to their core values was tested this year. As we close out 2020, there’s no better time to examine how your organization is approaching your core values.
Are You Prepared for 2021 With Enough Cash?
Companies don’t go bankrupt because they lose money; rather, they run out of cash. Where are we, heading into 2021? First, you can expect your cash to get tighter as we weather the current economic slowdown. Then, with a vaccine on the horizon, you will need to be positioned for growth. If you don’t have the cash you need, have you looked at how you can generate the cash internally? More on how to improve your cash conversion cycle…
Tony Hsieh, a Corporate Culture Icon, RIP
In his work as Zappos CEO and elsewhere, Tony Hsieh believed, and proved, that culture is the most important thing in an organization. According to Hsieh, if you get the culture right, the rest will take of itself. How did Zappos do it? You can take a look at everything from the company’s interview questions, to “The Offer” to leave a position as a new hire. Hsieh believed that a company’s brand is just a reflection of the culture, and his legacy is felt across so many industries.
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