We were in the middle of a large-scale turnaround project. I had recently been selected to serve as operations director, and when we reviewed the full line P&L, it wasn’t pretty. Not only were we losing money, but the problems were numerous and multi-layered. They included things like legacy products that were losing money at […]
You lead a global P&L and are on the fast track for senior executive leadership. You are known for making hard trade-off decisions (you got through ‘08) and somehow find resources for new products, marketing spends, and distribution. When you are in your core space of your P&L, all is well. You are confident, have […]
What’s the net present value of each of these two opportunities? Scenario one: Your sales team alerted you first: one of your top ten clients was about to move to a new supplier that offered a dramatically better service. You pulled together the right group of subject matter experts and you got them in the […]
I’ve had three conversations recently with Growth Leaders at firms in unrelated industries, all with the same set of circumstances: each project had a solid approach, had done their market and product homework and had good early feedback. The projected ROI’s were above each of the firm’s benchmarks. Yet when they put these programs […]
You know your stuff (AI, IOT, ML or some other hot specialty), have experience and just landed your dream job at that blue-chip firm. Or perhaps your company was just acquired by a larger firm with the intent of “adding much needed capabilities.” You get a nice new office, iPhone, and laptop and are off […]
The talent shortage that we all knew was in the offing has arrived, and with it, the need to quickly accelerate promising candidates in the leadership pipeline. With 10,000 baby boomers retiring each day, we know we need to equip the mid-senior talent we have in our firms as quickly as possible. This has led […]
We all know someone who looked like they had it all together. They took on all the developmental roles, then finally got the top job. Then just months later, they were sacked. Or in the work I do with Growth Leaders, I have often seen this: a strong functional leader given the task to lead […]
The SR71 (now retired) used to fly its missions 15 miles above the earth – an altitude that allows you to see the coast of California from Arizona. When we talk about organizations and how growth is built within them, sometimes it’s useful to pull way back and get that kind of perspective. By taking […]
Here are a few conversations I’ve had recently: A Growth Leader on the manufacturing team needs support from an oversubscribed support staff member for a major strategic initiative The leader of a new product line is preparing for a multi-week international road trip to launch the effort with local distribution teams An R&D leader who […]
I was reminded of this again recently as I joined a panel of experts to do the work of evaluating applications for an industry association award. It’s frequently very challenging work, which calls for a clear perspective, collaboration with a wide range of subject matter experts and a rapid building of shared insights around the […]
