Jeffrey Pfeffer, in his great book “The 7 Rules of Power” declares that “success excuses (almost) everything.” Success also determines which stories about the origins of that success get told and which headlines are buried. … Read more »
Strategy Execution
What Everybody Ought To Know About Planning Under Uncertainty
The article “Discovery Driven Planning” was published in 1995. The book-length treatment came out in 2009. And yet, we’re only now catching up to what entrepreneurs and corporate innovators have long understood – when… Read more »
Positioning: Beyond the Statement
Developing a positioning statement is often done as a fill-in-the-blank “Mad Libs” exercise. The power of insightful positioning, however, goes right to the heart of how you are creating value, and for whom. In marketing… Read more »
Strategy and the Resource Hostage Problem
The old watchword, “follow the money” will give you great insight into what really matters in any organization. It will also show you where the most significant blockers to transformation are likely to be. If… Read more »
“Oh, so that’s what you meant!” Using scorecards to simplify strategy
We see it all the time – strategies that are meant to align and energize people distract and confuse them instead. Creating a screening scorecard that anyone can use is a big help. The trouble… Read more »
A New Social Contract? Part 2: Reaching for a Vision
Welcome to part 2 of a three-part series, looking at the likelihood of a fundamental transformation of the basic social contract in the United States, reflecting Roosevelt’s New Deal. The framework combines two uncertainties to… Read more »
What Now? The Board Agenda for 2021
“What’s next” is the question on everyone’s mind. The reality is, we don’t – and can’t – know for sure. What we can do is articulate our best hypotheses and assumptions and then pay close… Read more »
Steering Your Organization is Like Flying a Kite!
When speed and agility are at a premium, having a well-aligned operating model is absolutely crucial. Having one that doesn’t depend on constant reinforcement by leadership is even better! And yet, many leaders struggle with… Read more »
Too Important to Ignore: Team Effectiveness
It’s hard to know how to respond to events of the magnitude of those that have been in the headlines, except to acknowledge that the quest for social justice feels really, really, enormous. As readers… Read more »
‘If you can’t do it, we’ll find somebody who can’ can be disastrous
Recent corporate scandals and mishaps should remind us that what can feel like the creation of a pragmatic sense of urgency in the “C-Suite” can translate into deeply dysfunctional behavior farther down the organization. Just… Read more »
Lost that Lovin’ Feeling? Target (and other) CEO’s try to get the love back
In my column over at Fortune, I note that a common pattern for companies who get themselves into trouble is that they somehow ‘lose touch’ with their customers. I attribute this in many ways to… Read more »
4 Ways To Improve Unproductive Meetings
In my Experts column at the Wall Street Journal, I describe the kinds of behavior that sap energy, time and general usefulness out of meetings, and suggest four specific remedies. Have a look.