Goal setting is tricky business. The right goals motivate, are meaningful, focus attention and effort, and create positive change for the organization. They also allow you to quickly identify where progress is stalled and action is required. Unfortunately, many goals fail to effectively do any of this because they are not set at the right …
Read more “Are your goals aligned with your actual contribution?”
The other day I needed to divide my audience into smaller groups several times within the same meeting. The meeting leader wanted the groups to be different each time. For the initial split, we simply counted off by the number of groups we wanted. However, given that people were sitting in roughly the same places …
Read more “A simple guide for creating random groups in your meetings”
The focus on data and data-driven decision making isn’t going away. That’s a good thing. But, despite the push and all of the data, decisions aren’t being made any better or faster. The problem is that many leaders are missing the point. Big Data (or any data) isn’t about the data. It’s about the insights …
On average, what percent of the content of your presentations is data? Data include tables, charts, top/bottom lists, scorecards, or metrics. If you are like many of my clients I’d bet your answer is around 80-90%. If that’s the case, then you’ve got 70-80% more than you need. Being data-driven does not mean that you …
Leadership Lessons from Holocaust Survivors A leader’s job is to create meaning and purpose for those around him or her. In his book, “Man’s Search for Meaning”, Viktor Frankl speaks eloquently about the power of such meaning and purpose in a person’s life. This book should be required reading for all leaders. Recently, I was …
I had an interesting conversation with a friend the other day. My friend works for a Fortune 100 company. We were discussing some of the major changes and pressures they are facing. Like many organizations its size, her company realizes that it must simplify. However, as is also the case with their similar-sized peers, a …
The other day my wife asked me to send her mother some information. Her mom wanted to visit our son at college and was trying to figure out a date. My son’s availability is limited this semester. He has several trips home and we will be going to visit him for parents’ weekend. My wife …
When I was younger, every summer we’d take a boat trip around Lake Michigan. I can still remember how tedious the first week of the trip felt. Moving along at 6-10 knots (7-11.5 miles per hour) almost felt like standing still. By the end of the trip, however, it felt normal. On days that we’d …
Read more “Are your employees and customers engaged or just sensitized?”
Data are just a proxy for reality, they aren’t reality. As more and more information is being captured, analyzed, and published, this is an important consideration for leaders. While “management by walking around” might have been the mantra for the 80s, perhaps “data gathering by walking around” should be the theme for today. In a …
Read more “If a tree falls in the woods, does it really fall? Only if Google’s data say so.”
“It is hard for us, without being flippant, to even see a scenario within any kind of realm of reason that would see us losing one dollar in any of those transactions.”[1] –AIG Executive, August, 2007 one year before the financial meltdown of AIG The first thing to do when you can’t find data that …