Strategic planning must now embrace the certainty of uncertainty. Recent global events have underscored the inherent unpredictability of the landscape we operate within, demanding a new level of adaptability and strategic resilience.
I'm constantly seeking insights into what propels organizations to achieve the seemingly impossible. I had the distinct privilege of exploring the inner workings of one such company: SpaceX, guided by the remarkable wisdom of its President and COO, Gwynne Shotwell. The leadership insights from my hour-long interview on the YPO Live platform offers a powerful blueprint for the relentless pursuit of ambitious goals in a high-velocity environment.
Sustainable growth is built upon the bedrock of uncompromising team alignment. As a strategic business coach, I've observed that organizations thriving in today's environment possess a distinct ability to establish and maintain a strong operational rhythm. One highly effective tool for achieving this is the implementation of daily huddles.
As a strategic business coach, I've seen firsthand how recurring hassles can cripple an organization. They drain productivity, frustrate employees, and drive customers away. Let’s dive into six powerful problem-solving guidelines from Verne Harnish's "Start to Scale" that can help you de-hassle your organization and turn feedback into positive change.
Imagine a jar. You have a limited amount of space, and you need to fill it with important things. Do you start with the small stuff – pebbles, sand, even water? Or do you begin with the largest items – the boulders? This simple analogy, famously illustrated by Stephen Covey, perfectly captures the essence of effective time management and goal setting. In this blog post, we'll explore the concept of 'Big Rocks' and how prioritizing them is crucial for scaling up your leadership and achieving your most ambitious business goals.
As business leaders, we want to recruit and retain the best and brightest team members to execute on our strategic vision. But are we looking at the right factors when building our executive leadership team? Do we really know what makes great leaders in today’s environment?
I’ve worked with leadership teams throughout my career — from building great, highly effective teams at Shelter Mortgage to all the companies I work with in my current role as a Strategic Business Coach. I’ve noticed five common traits in the most successful executive teams, and I share them below as the “Secrets of a Genuine Leader.”
Could your team make it to the Final Four?
It’s March Madness, and I can’t help but draw parallels between the teams on the basketball floor and the executive teams I see in the business world. They both operate off the same set of basic principles:
1. Get the basics right. Know your core values and stay true to them. Stay positive and work together on shared goals instead of personal, isolated goals. You can’t win the game alone.
Apple, REI, Walt Disney, Nordstrom, Starbucks…
When you walk into any of these businesses you immediately feel their company culture. It hits you the moment you step inside. It’s in the way their team members greet you, their level of service and the subtle behaviors you might not even notice.
All of these companies take their cultures seriously. They make trust, transparency, respect and pride all non-negotiable, and these qualities get mirrored in their customer-facing interactions.
As we enter 2018 and all the promise a fresh year brings, it’s the perfect time for leaders to develop their company’s Vivid Vision.
What’s a Vivid Vision? Cameron Herold, the former COO of 1-800-Got-Junk who increased revenues from $2 million to $105 million in 6 years, describes it in his book Double Double. It’s painting a picture of what your business will look, feel and act like three years down the road. It’s not about how you will get there with defined goals and metrics — we’ll save that for the strategic planning sessions with your leadership team. It’s imagining where you want your company to be in three years. To communicate this picture, you’ll need to envision success and provide ample details, using expressive language.
One of the biggest — and most common — pitfalls in business is a lack of accountability. You can have a rock-solid strategic plan with clear areas of responsibility and measurable metrics, but if you don’t hold each other accountable, you won’t reach your goals.
If that sounds like your team, you’re not alone. I uncover accountability issues in many of the teams I work with, including some who are otherwise highly functional. The good news: It’s a relatively easy fix if you’re not afraid to say “the buck stops here”, “you can’t blame others” or “it’s your issue.”
