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The Blind Spot of Expertise
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: Experience helps us recognize patterns, make informed decisions and interpret complex situations, but it can also lead us to rely on familiar explanations without recognizing what makes a situation different. The value of expertise lies not only in what we know, but in our willingness to question…
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Control: The Most Potent Addiction of All
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: The need for control can create a sense of security while gradually increasing dependence, limiting initiative and reinforcing the very conditions we’re trying to prevent. Recognizing the boundaries of our responsibility and influence allows us to make more appropriate decisions without assuming that every outcome must be…
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Feeding the Cobra: Why Our Fixes Backfire
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: Organizations sometimes introduce solutions that unintentionally encourage the very behaviors or conditions they are trying to eliminate, leaving problems unresolved or even making them worse. Understanding how interventions influence behavior, incentives and organizational practices is essential to avoiding unintended consequences and recognizing when the solution itself has…
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The Mispricing of Worth: Consumer Behavior and Value Substitution
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: An old dresser attracted no apparent interest when offered for free, yet reportedly disappeared within an hour of being given a $50 price tag, raising questions about how price influences our perceptions of worth. Price may influence perceptions of quality and value, but the amount charged doesn’t…
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The Fix Forward Session: Tackling Recurring Roadblocks
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: Organizations can conduct increasingly effective meetings while continuing to discuss the same unresolved problems, introducing corrective actions without adequately understanding why previous efforts have failed. The Fix Forward Session™ changes the conversation from repeatedly managing recurring issues to understanding what keeps them in place before determining what…
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The Illusion of Effort: When Persistence Blinds Progress
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: Persistence can create the appearance of progress when repeated effort becomes more important than understanding whether we’re achieving the intended results. Remaining committed to an objective requires more than perseverance; it also requires the willingness to assess what we’re learning, question our approach and make changes when…
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Broken by Design: Why Good Intentions Ruin Great Businesses
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: A bustling neighbourhood café attracted loyal customers despite its apparent disorganization, but when a new owner introduced operational improvements, the business lost much of what had made it successful. Improving a business without first understanding what makes it work can destroy the very things that create value,…
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When a Mistake Becomes a Position
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: A mistake may begin as one decision, but the effort to defend it can gradually create problems far greater than the original error. Recognizing when a decision needs to be reconsidered is an important part of leadership, accountability and strategic alignment. In organizations, mistakes often begin with…
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What If You’re Getting Better at the Wrong Thing?
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: An organization can meet its targets, improve efficiency and execute its strategy successfully while becoming increasingly disconnected from the environment in which it operates. Strong performance may provide reassurance precisely when the organization needs to question whether its strategic direction remains relevant. Today, I participated in the…
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Are We Driven More by Instinct or Insight?
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: Instinct can help us recognize a pattern quickly, but recognition is not necessarily understanding. The danger begins when the speed with which we recognize a problem becomes evidence that we understand it. Much of what we do begins before we have fully thought about it. We sense…
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