Before I get going on this article, I want to give you some background. Did you feel it? Did your eyes roll? Did your thoughts start to wander? Did you start looking down the page to get to the “real” content? Did the word “background” trigger a negative reaction? Nothing kills engagement and decision-making as much as “background. …
All analytics boil down to one universal question, “Where should we focus our attention”? Of course, that question plays out in different ways. On the positive side, it might sound like, “Who is ready to be promoted?”, “Where do we have new market opportunities?”, etc. On the negative side, it might sound like, “Where are …
Read more “The universal analytics question. Are you answering it?”
People are starting to catch on to the need to be simple. However, sometimes we confuse simple and superficial. It’s important to communicate clearly. But, it’s also important to say something meaningful. Here is a repost of an article about a problem that I call “Poodle Grooming”. ——————————————- Good communication is simple. However, it also …
Read more “Are you simply and clearly saying nothing? Avoid “poodle grooming”!”
Are you a “lister”? A lister is a person who answers questions with long lists of data or facts. Here’s a simple example. Suppose I ask, “How is your department doing?” Here is how a lister might respond: · Sales are down 10% · Our defect rate has increased to 3.2 per 1,000 parts · Employee engagement has risen …
Read more “Leave the lists to Santa. Start synthesizing your data!”
Last night we had the first big snowfall of the year here in Naperville, IL. I always like to use this as an opportunity to provide some reminders about leadership. Here is a repost with some previous thoughts on snow shoveling and leadership. ——————– We had our first big snow today. As my dogs and I …
Read more “What’s your leadership style? Look at how you shovel snow!”
What a crazy year! Even the PNC Twelve Days of Christmas Index didn’t escape the pandemic. This year, the cost of buying the gifts in the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is down 38% to $105, 562[1]. However, there is an important COVID-related caveat. Due to the near shutdown of the live entertainment industry, this year’s index did …
People’s attention spans have been steadily decreasing over time. I’m sure that doesn’t surprise you. Much has been written on this subject. The response to this issue has been interesting. Instead of showing concern or alarm, we’ve accepted it. In fact, we’ve embraced it. Conventional wisdom suggests that we need to cater to this lack …
Read more “Maintaining Attention: The next core strategic skill for your business”
How much of your time is really spent on value-added work? If you are familiar with the Pareto Principle the best guess is about 20%. Commonly referred to as the 80/20 rule, the Pareto Principle states that 80% of outputs in a system are generated by 20% of inputs. Look at your own business and …
Read more “Don’t fall prey to Pareto – focus your time where you add the most value”
Four quick tips for opening your mind…this was part of farewell email that I sent to a group of young professionals that I was mentoring. My final bit of advice to them was to have the discipline to keep an open mind. ————- When someone does or says something that you disagree with (even if …
It’s been twenty years since I hastily scribbled the Value through information model on a piece of paper. At the time, I created the model simply as a coaching tool for my team. Their presentations were heavy on information and light on analysis and interpretation. Little did I know that the model would increase so much in its …