People, let’s put an end to it. The false debate about which is more important: strategy or culture. It’s a debate that seemingly refuses to die, and it’s based on a total misunderstanding. But before I get into that, a little history …
Focus
Lease Your Beliefs, Don’t Own Them
The double-edged sword of “knowing” is that it gets in the way of learning.
Your New Year’s Goals Will Fail … Unless You Do This
We’re fresh into the New Year. You’re full of ambition and full of energy. And, importantly, you’ve identified your goals.
Why Now is the Right Time to Think About Cutting
It’s been a great run. The economy has been on an upswing for years. Do we even remember what a recession feels like?
We’re due. And many forecasters believe we’re due in 2019. Of course, economic forecasts and economic reality are often two different things. So what should you do?
What Driving With Two Feet Taught Me About Strategy
I’ve been a two-foot driver since I was 16. And I don’t mean just when driving a standard. What I mean is when driving an automatic. One foot on the accelerator, one foot on the brake.
Developing Strategy? Focus on Two Types of Objectives
You and your team are developing your company’s strategy. Let’s imagine your primary goal is to improve customer retention.
The #1 Mistake Every Company Makes When Strategic Planning
Everyone does it.
Every company I have ever consulted with – high-tech, low-tech, service, manufacturing, blue-collar, white-collar, whatever – takes on too much. Too many strategies, too many objectives, too many initiatives, too many projects, too much.
The 6 Most Important Questions to Ask Your Customers
What should you want to know about your customers? Some would say, “As much as possible.” Others would say, “One thing: How likely is it they would recommend you?” So which is it: everything or one thing?
Think You Know Your Customers? Attack Your Assumptions!
Lease your beliefs, don’t own them. It’s something I often say to my clients. Why? When you own your beliefs you feel compelled to defend them, and keep defending them, when they come under attack. When you lease your beliefs, it means they’re subject to reevaluation and you might decide not to renew them.
How Measurement Can Cause You to Fail
I’m going to open a proverbial “can of worms.” I want to deal with a topic that is critically important to business yet poorly understood. A topic for which we have much appreciation but little interest.
How Success Can Lead to Failure Can Lead to Success
It’s been said that nothing fails like success. Because success provides the fertile soil in which complacency and arrogance can take root. We become complacent when we extrapolate our present success into the future and assume we will always be successful. We become arrogant when we attribute success to our superiority and assume we will always be superior.
Why Strategic Leaders are Like Scientists (no, really)
When we think of strategic leaders, the image of a scientist – someone in a white lab coat with thick glasses holding a test tube – is not what comes to mind. Yet, surprisingly, strategic leaders are very much like scientists. Here’s how: