Archive for the ‘In 100 Words’ Category
Friday, August 1st, 2014 by AdvisorCatalyst
We can become trapped by thinking and methods which are currently successful. Existing strengths or competitive advantages can also quickly turn into major limitations. The very factors which led to past successes become impediments to future, larger accomplishments.
This reality is difficult to see precisely because current achievements are directly linked to a particular paradigm we created and exercised (usually for years). However, our framework must flex.
In short, we must be willing to change and discard even successful efforts. This is what Peter Drucker referred to as “systematic abandonment.” We should consciously shift resources to new, more promising opportunities.
“Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.” –Will Rogers
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Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, management, Troy Schrock
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Saturday, June 14th, 2014 by AdvisorCatalyst
Superior performance is rarely achieved through relentless force and pushing. Great leaders learn to strike a balance between motivational challenging and patience
Leaders CHALLENGE by:
- Expecting great results and holding people accountable.
- Practicing continuous learning themselves followed by wise application of concepts.
- Maintaining key disciplines such as meeting rhythms and priority-setting.
- Driving resource alignment around strategic priorities.
Leaders demonstrate PATIENCE by:
- Knowing change does not happen overnight.
- Spending years developing an effective, healthy leadership team.
- Understanding there is a limit to how much a person can take on and absorb (stretch) at any point in time.
- Repeating themselves…without showing frustration.
“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” –Saint Augustine
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Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, management, Troy Schrock
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Thursday, May 1st, 2014 by AdvisorCatalyst
Alan Mulally’s upcoming retirement as CEO of Ford Motor Company is big news these days. All organizations, not just those in the automotive sector, should take note. Mulally’s leadership in turning around Ford highlights a key Level 5 Leader practice he, and the executive leaders, used to take Ford to the top of the industry.
A tight weekly executive team meeting (Mulally’s BPR – Business Process Review) was implemented to drive both business plan execution and building a strong leadership team. Candor, along with accountability around data, virtually non-existent in past Ford culture, have paved the way for consistent business performance.
“Running a business is a design job. You need a point of view about the future, a really good plan to deliver that future, and then relentless implementation.” Alan Mulally
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Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, management, strategy execution, Troy Schrock
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Friday, March 14th, 2014 by AdvisorCatalyst
Are your best resources committed to your biggest opportunities? Let me be more specific in two ways.
First, do you know the most significant growth opportunity for your organization looking five-plus years into the future? Many times it’s different than your current way of business.
Second, out of all your talent resources, are your absolute best people focused on what you know to be that largest opportunity? It’s all too natural for the best people to be consumed with the existing business. It’s an energy trap.
You accelerate outcomes when your best people are leading your most significant growth opportunities.
“Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is being carried out.” Ronald Reagan
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Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, management, strategy execution, Troy Schrock
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Friday, January 31st, 2014 by AdvisorCatalyst
Now is the time to execute! 2014 plans have been laid out and communicated to the organization. First quarter Rocks (priorities) are identified. Could your goals be better defined? Could you spend more time fine-tuning the plan? Absolutely. You can always find additional things to study or clarify. But, now is the time to run.
Don’t hesitate. Don’t procrastinate. The momentum you gain (or lose) in the first 90 days will impact your entire year’s plan. Go heads down on executing your Rocks. Then, at the end of the quarter, you will have opportunity to reassess and make course corrections.
A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. (George S. Patton)
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Tags: In 100 Words, strategy execution, Troy Schrock
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Friday, December 13th, 2013 by AdvisorCatalyst
It is natural to be thankful this time of year. I believe we have greater joy in life when we live in active gratitude. Appreciation enriches all of our experiences and relationships. Can we consciously nurture grateful attitudes all year? I believe so. I think attitude follows right actions. Here are several actions which help me cultivate thankfulness:
- Serving others who need help.
- Writing daily or weekly “thankful lists.”
- Commending others for good things they are doing.
- Spending time outside – in awe of something larger than myself.
- Reading inspirational literature (primarily the Bible for me).
How do you cultivate thankfulness?
“Keep your eyes open to your mercies. The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life.” (Robert Louis Stevenson)
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Tags: In 100 Words, Self-Management, Troy Schrock
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Friday, November 1st, 2013 by AdvisorCatalyst
Every business is built on a particular set of assumptions – assumptions about customer desires, the best delivery solution, the competitive landscape, external trends and internal capabilities. Considering these varied elements, and their shifting nature, we quickly realize every business model is merely hypothesis.
Over the next several months, companies will engage in the routine of strategic planning for 2014 and beyond. This is a good time to test a business model hypothesis. Leadership teams must have the courage to ask the question, “What underlying assumptions about our business are no longer valid?” and wrestle with the answers and related consequences.
“We simply assume that the way we see things is the way they really are or the way they should be.” (Stephen R. Covey)
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Tags: In 100 Words, management, strategic planning, Troy Schrock
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Friday, September 13th, 2013 by AdvisorCatalyst
We extol the virtues of satisfaction, and rightly so. Satisfied employees and customers are key to our organization’s success. Is there such a thing as being too satisfied? Yes, in ourselves, and our organizations, it is known as complacency. Ouch!
We like to be comfortable. It’s not easy to push ourselves to keep learning, growing and improving. Dissatisfaction seems to have a negative connotation, yet it can be highly productive – exciting people to right injustices or simply improve situations that are less than great.
Where have you become too satisfied and comfortable in your own life, work, habits and thinking?
“Don’t let your special character and values, the secret that you know and no one else does, the truth – don’t let that get swallowed up by the great chewing complacency.” (Aesop)
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Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, Self-Management, Troy Schrock
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Friday, August 2nd, 2013 by AdvisorCatalyst
Leaders should step back to analyze success or failure at the end of a project or goal period. “Did we achieve the objective?” “Have we identified root causes?” “What role, if any, did fortune play in the final results?” The simple rigor of capturing lessons learned improves future decisions and actions. Debriefs often prove to be our most fertile ground for adaptive learning.
We neglect debriefs because we are:
- Forgetful… sad, but true.
- Too Busy… we think.
- Too Excited… by whatever new objective lies ahead.
- Avoiding Reality… it’s difficult acknowledging failures.
Instead, nurture a debrief discipline for your future benefit.
“Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.” (Benjamin Franklin)
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Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, management, Self-Management
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Friday, June 14th, 2013 by AdvisorCatalyst
Effective self-management requires leaders to master a triad of distinct, yet complementary, forces: time, energy and focus. Time management practices alone are insufficient. Research clearly shows our final work output improves when we align the long-known practices of personal time organization with our best available power (mental and physical energy) and concentrated attention (focus).
Simply put, as we prioritize our time on our first and best work, we must also plan how we will apply our peak energy in a focused manner. We must learn our individual tendencies with each force and then consciously manage them in a coordinated effort.
“Excellence is achieved by the mastery of fundamentals.” (Vince Lombardi)
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Tags: Excellence, In 100 Words, Leadership, Mastery
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