COVID has raised the stakes and is driving a wholesale rethinking of how we as individuals invest our time, money and resources. We are still in the midst of working through its impact and our response, but one thing is very certain: As humans, COVID has driven us to want more. More from our communities…as […]
We’re on the cusp of 2022 planning and many teams are actively looking for resources for the projects that will help their teams move beyond survival mode and towards growth projects beyond the pilot stage. Of course, ops teams are still stretched thin, so finding time, budget and resources is as challenging as when the […]
Much of my work is with firms that have developed strong positions in existing markets and want to find a fresh lane to compete in. These firms have enjoyed success and are very skillful at mining out a niche once they have entered. They routinely are able to improve the efficiency of sales, delivery, and […]
Last week’s post on the tension between effectiveness and expectations (link here), resonated with hundreds – thanks for all your feedback. In the post, I drew attention to the double bind of virtual teams that are struggling to be effective and how that, combined with team members’ expectations of work-life balance being elevated, was creating […]
The talent shortage we carried into the pandemic, and the shifting contract of how we work, are combining to be a major challenge in our businesses. This two-headed threat has turned the equation of work design inside out and has put our teams into very unfamiliar territory. One tangible data point from this is the […]
For the rider above, the stunt has risks, but with skill planning and practice, it becomes manageable. As we approach 2022, it is essential that we develop the same skills for our firms – so that we can reclaim our ability to manage risks and develop fresh sources of returns for our stakeholders (if you […]
I overheard that quote during a recent family gathering as a spirited game of tag had broken out. I had observed one of the children losing interest and had coached one of the older players to balance the ratio of winning and losing a bit to keep his siblings in the game. I suggested it […]
Let’s roll back the timeline a bit. Before COVID, the implementation of strategy hovered at less than a 30% success rate (per McKinsey). With my own recent research of more than 40 senior leaders since the COVID disruption, I’ve confirmed that COVID has driven high-performance firms towards even less efficiency in implementation (see my summary […]
If you are a senior leader, how do you create standout results? You become the leader of choice to find, form, and execute on true value. And how do you do it? By investing in your best leaders’ transformation capabilities. For this cycle, I’m encouraging senior leaders to think differently about how to structure their […]
Right now, our creative talent is very open to new opportunities. And one of the main reasons people (really) move? It’s because they perceive there’s a better chance of seeing their creative work realized in the hands of real customers in a new firm. With this in mind, there is one question that is the […]
