It was just another day at work…then the product manager and I were called into the boss’ office. My peer and I had just been briefed on the project that would be consuming our professional lives for the next nine months. We needed to simultaneously design a new-to-the-world component and a manufacturing line to deliver […]
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 […]
It’s a common refrain during aviation training: aviate, navigate, communicate. Flight instructors drill this mantra into pilots because it gives an instant prioritization of the things they should be working on at a given moment during flight. The enemy of safety is pilot overload and distraction, and this mantra provides a quick way to get […]
I was working with a senior leader on a recent call who was debating about whether they should set up dedicated innovation labs and was looking for insights on how they might be structured. This is a very common question when people look carefully at the implementation needs for their strategies. At the outset, it […]
I’ve had opportunities recently to work with several larger clients and attend a number of conferences in my core spaces of manufacturing, energy and materials. As I listen to comments about talent, scale and process, it’s clear that there has been a shift. First, let’s just say that we are all really busy. The talent […]
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