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Steal Like an Artist, but Vet for Burden
Borrowing ideas from others is a great way to innovate, but every creative spark carries an unseen cost. Today we are surrounded by so many different ideas and ways of doing things that deciding what to steal can quickly lead to disorientation instead of clarity. Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist encourages remixing existing work.…
Alignment, Austin Kleon, brand strategy, business growth, business planning, business strategy, content creation, content strategy, creator economy, decision quality, Decision-Making, entrepreneurship, focus, innovation, Leadership & Practice, marketing strategy, personal branding, pre-decision thinking, productivity, resource management, Steal Like an Artist, strategic alignment, Strategic thinking, strategy, sustainable business -
What To Do When Your Brain Hijacks Your Day
Some days your brain hijacks the whole thing. That was today. A personal matter reached in, took the wheel, and drove off with the hours I’d meant to spend elsewhere. By the time I looked up, the day was mostly gone. Lost to total derailment. I want to be honest about it, because I think…
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A Practical Look at Faith in Business
Faith is often avoided in business. It either sounds too religious for the boardroom or perceived as too impractical for strategy meetings. Yet every entrepreneur exercises faith. None of these come with guarantees. In a Return to Love, Marianne Williamson tells us that there is no such thing as a faithless person. The question isn’t…
Alignment, belief systems, business growth, business leadership, business mindset, business strategy, business success, conscious leadership, Decision-Making, entrepreneurship, faith, intention, intentional leadership, Leadership & Practice, leadership development, mindset, mindset shift, organizational leadership, personal growth, problem solving, purpose, resilience, Self leadership, Strategic thinking -
Bob’s Your Uncle… and What We Stop Questioning
If you’ve ever watched a British cooking show or listened to someone from the UK explain how to fix something, you’ve probably heard the phrase, “Bob’s your uncle.” “Tighten the screw, reconnect the cable… Bob’s your uncle.” Today, it simply means “…and there you have it,” or “…it’s as easy as that.” It’s a cheerful…
assumptions, Best Practices, business leadership, business strategy, change management, context, continuous improvement, critical thinking, curiosity, Decision-Making, discernment, history, Language, Leadership & Practice, leadership development, leadership insights, organizational culture, organizational effectiveness, organizational learning, problem solving, Process Improvement, sensemaking, strategic alignment, Strategic thinking, systems thinking -
Stop Issuing RFPs Based on Assumed Needs
I was asked to review a Terms of Reference a couple months ago for a twelve-month Commercial Marketing Advisor. It was a thoughtful document. The objectives were clear, the scope of work was comprehensive, and the desired outcomes were well defined. As I read through it, however, I found myself thinking less about the proposed…
assumptions, business decisions, business leadership, business strategy, commercial sustainability, consulting, decision quality, Decision-Making, diagnostic thinking, executive leadership, governance, Leadership & Practice, leadership insights, management, organizational diagnosis, organizational effectiveness, organizational learning, pre-decision diagnosis, problem solving, procurement, requests for proposal, RFP, root cause analysis, strategic reflection, Strategic thinking -
Your Comfort Zone is Not the Enemy
I’m currently reading Choose Hard by MJ DeMarco. He reframed the comfort zone in a way that made me reconsider one of the most common ideas in personal and professional development. For years, we’ve been encouraged to “get out of our comfort zone.” The implication is that comfort itself is the problem. If we’re comfortable,…
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Before Your Next Move, Seek Understanding
One of the most enduring poems in the English language, The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, was inspired by a military disaster during the Crimean War. I kind of half learnt it because my eldest brother had to memorize it for a school assignment and would walk around the house reciting…
⚙️ Sensemaking in organizations, Decision-Making, Human Dynamics, Leadership & Practice, Strategic Sensemaking, Systems, Structure & RelevanceAlignment, businessleadership, BusinessStrategy, changemanagement, clarity, communication, criticalthinking, decisionmaking, diagnostics, execution, Leadership & Practice, leadershipdevelopment, leadershiplessons, management, organizationalalignment, organizationalculture, sensemaking, strategicthinking, strategy -
Complete Fearlessness Is a Recipe for Ruin
Yesterday I wrote that cynicism is not wisdom. It is often fear wearing the mask of intelligence. Today, I’d like to explore the opposite extreme. Complete fearlessness. We often celebrate fearless leaders, fearless entrepreneurs, and fearless decision-makers. Yet complete fearlessness is not a virtue. In business, it can be be a recipe for ruin. Fear…
better decisions, business leadership, business strategy, courage, courage vs fear, critical thinking, entrepreneurship, fear, fearlessness, Leadership & Practice, leadership development, leadership mindset, organizational learning, resilience, risk management, Strategic Alignment Journal, Strategic thinking -
Cynicism is Cowardice
At Media InSite’s 15th anniversary celebration and conference – From Insight to Impact, Managing Director Allison Demas reflected on her decision to start the company by wondering whether it had been “stupid or smart.” I don’t think it was either. I think it was courageous. It’s easy to laugh at people who try. It is…
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What truths has your organization become unable to hear?
Every organization depends on information flowing upward. Customers complain. Processes break. Risks emerge. Frontline employees notice inefficiencies long before they are likely to appear on a management report. The quality of leadership decisions is directly tied to the quality of information leaders receive. When people stop speaking honestly, reality becomes filtered. Leaders begin making decisions…
Get Clarity before the Fix
