Developing Strategy? Focus on Two Types of Objectives
You and your team are developing your company’s strategy. Let’s imagine your primary goal is to improve customer retention. ... Read More
The #1 Mistake Every Company Makes When Strategic Planning
Everyone does it. Every company I have ever consulted with – high-tech, low-tech, service, manufacturing, blue-collar, white-collar, whatever – takes on too much. Too many strategies, too many objectives, too many initiatives, too many projects, to ... Read More
The 7 Most Important Questions to Ask Your Customers
What should you want to know about your customers? Some would say, “As much as possible.” Others would say, “One thing: How likely is it they would recommend you?” So which is it: everything or one thing? ... Read More
Think You Know Your Customers? Attack Your Assumptions!
Lease your beliefs, don’t own them. It’s something I often say to my clients. Why? When you own your beliefs you feel compelled to defend them, and keep defending them, when they come under attack. When you lease your beliefs, it means they’re subje ... Read More
How Measurement Can Cause You to Fail
I’m going to open a proverbial “can of worms.” I want to deal with a topic that is critically important to business yet poorly understood. A topic for which we have much appreciation but little interest. ... Read More
How Success Can Lead to Failure Can Lead to Success
It’s been said that nothing fails like success. Because success provides the fertile soil in which complacency and arrogance can take root. We become complacent when we extrapolate our present success into the future and assume we will always be success ... Read More
Why Strategic Leaders are Like Scientists (no, really)
When we think of strategic leaders, the image of a scientist – someone in a white lab coat with thick glasses holding a test tube – is not what comes to mind. Yet, surprisingly, strategic leaders are very much like scientists. Here’s how: ... Read More
Don’t Fix Culture, Fix What Drives Culture
Early into a new client engagement it’s not unusual for the CEO to say to me, “We need to fix our culture.” I understand the concern. After all, many studies have shown that culture is strongly associated with business performance and results. ... Read More
Why You Should Beware of Soundbite Leadership Lessons
Reflecting our ever-shortening attention span, publications are increasingly doling out leadership lessons in the form of soundbites. A recent Fast Company article distilled 32 such lessons from 32 business leaders, founders, and artists (artists?) in res ... Read More
The #1 Reason Why Committed and Capable Leaders Fail
Whenever I’m speaking with a prospective client – typically a CEO of a mid-market organization – I want to determine several things. First, is the person truly committed to making strategy happen? Is it a must-do or merely a nice-to-do? Next, is the ... Read More
