Posts Tagged ‘Leadership’
Wednesday, May 1st, 2019 by AdvisorCatalyst
Visualize a swarm of insects or birds in nature moving en masse then descending on and devouring a food source with shocking speed. They completely overwhelm the present condition.
This is the mental picture for how your team should tackle top priorities. Swarm – fully activate and intensely concentrate people and resources to overwhelm the obstacles to accomplishing the objective. Such singular passion and effort will create enough energy to break the inertia of the present condition. Conversely, chipping away at the priority with too few resources applied too late will leave you short. Swarm early and descend on the priority.
“It is not always what we know or analyzed before we make a decision that makes it a great decision. It is what we do after we make the decision to implement and execute it that makes it a good decision.” William Pollard
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Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, management, strategy execution, Troy Schrock
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Saturday, March 16th, 2019 by AdvisorCatalyst
Team Leader Seminar – Five Sure-Fire Tactics Guaranteed to Dishearten Any Team!
1. Confidently claim your answer or solution is the best.
2. Don’t solicit input. BONUS – Learn the art of ignoring or deflecting ideas the team does happen to share with you (TIP – reinforce with tactic #1).
3. Give more attention and opportunity to team members who don’t align with the organization’s values or buy in to the team’s purpose but are clearly more talented (TIP – talent trumps values).
4. Criticize and correct subordinates work.
5. Publicly joke about subordinates’ weaknesses and failures.
Purposeful, regular application of these tactics yields the best results.
“Many a true word hath been spoken in jest.” William Shakespeare, King Lear
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Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, management, Troy Schrock
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Thursday, January 31st, 2019 by AdvisorCatalyst
A perfect option does not exist for many choices we make. Rather, the decision involves a trade-off between a set of upsides and downsides; advantages and disadvantages. We try to balance the trade-offs. Oddly enough, though, we sometimes become concerned when the expected downsides occur. Hoping for a better solution, we work to amend the negative trade-offs without realizing we may miss the full benefit of the positive trade-offs in the process.
Don’t waste energy on the downsides if you want to maximize decision trade-offs. Identify the trade-offs. Get comfortable with your decision path. Enjoy the upsides of the trade-off!
“There are no solutions; there are only trade-offs.” Thomas Sowell
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Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, strategy execution, Troy Schrock
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Saturday, December 15th, 2018 by AdvisorCatalyst
Certain seasons or events of our life heighten our awareness of both blessings we enjoy and the needs of others. Caring about someone else more than ourselves sparks kindness. Kindness can be displayed simply – smile and say hello; share encouragement and appreciation; or help someone with an obvious need.
Leaders initiate words and acts of kindness because they realize:
• Kindness is infectious – it’s easy for people to imitate.
• Kindness is relational lubrication – we more easily overlook people’s irritating behaviors.
• Kindness, regularly practiced, strengthens organizational culture.
Kindness is a gift everyone deserves to receive … and a gift everyone can give.
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” Aesop
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Tags: Culture, In 100 Words, Leadership, Troy Schrock
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Thursday, November 1st, 2018 by AdvisorCatalyst
Success anomalies are difficult, if not impossible, to replicate. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop leaders from attempting to repeat a success without first verifying a pattern exists. This over-confidence can result in large investments that don’t return. Organizations can have success anomalies and then stumble as leaders try to repeat past performance in important areas such as:
• Entering new markets
• Hiring senior level people
• Making acquisitions (statistically, the majority fail to deliver expected results).
Make significant investments only where there are clear patterns of positive outcomes. In other cases, make guarded resource commitments since you could be building on an anomaly.
“Everything has its limit – iron ore cannot be educated into gold.” Mark Twain
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Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, management, Troy Schrock
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Tuesday, May 1st, 2018 by AdvisorCatalyst
No, this message isn’t about using time wisely. The hourglass is a metaphor of something passing through a bottleneck. Specific to leaders, one chokepoint is our need to weigh in on too many different issues and decisions. This desire to review and provide input leads to final approvals stacking up in our inboxes. Speed of execution slows. There is an inverse correlation – the greater the amount of decisions and issues piled up on our desk, the less amount of work our teams are accomplishing. Determine where you can pass on decision authority. This will widen the neck of your hourglass.
“So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work.” Peter Drucker
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Tags: Decision making, In 100 Words, Leadership, management, Troy Schrock
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Thursday, March 15th, 2018 by AdvisorCatalyst
Big Ideas are grand! Some leaders obsess over finding the next Big Idea. The latest company that races from concept to billion-dollar valuation captures our imagination. Strategy conversations spice up the humdrum of business. Leaders can become distracted pursuing new Big Ideas. Take note, there is a little secret with Big Ideas – you only need a few because the right ones remain true over time (e.g., faster delivery, more individualized service, exclusive prestige). Clarify your existing Big Ideas which will remain true over time. Invest to increase capabilities around those Big Ideas. In short, obsess over executing your Big Ideas!
“A company shouldn’t get addicted to being shiny, because shiny doesn’t last.” Jeff Bezos
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Tags: In 100 Words, Leadership, management, strategy execution
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Friday, December 15th, 2017 by AdvisorCatalyst
Sincere appreciation must rank as one of the most underutilized resources available to leaders. Other than some time, showing appreciation rarely costs us anything, yet we generally don’t express it frequently enough. On the flip side, we cherish receiving appreciation – we enjoy being recognized as someone of value who is contributing something of value.
It’s hard to express appreciation without a few pre-conditions:
• Care about the other person – truly care.
• Cultivate a thankful attitude.
• Maintain a generous spirit.
Don’t be stingy. Be quick to praise and recognize people in your life. Express it warmly – verbally or in writing. Freely appreciate!
“The way to develop the best that is in a person is by appreciation and encouragement.” Charles M. Schwab
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