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Having a plan does not magically unlock action
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: Having a clear plan can tell us where we are going without necessarily making it easier for us to take immediate action. When execution stalls, the question may not only be whether people are committed to the plan, but whether the work itself has been structured in…
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How Bad Do You Want It?
Today’s Strategic Reflection Post in two sentences: In selling, our job is to diagnose the problem, recommend the solution, master our sales process and ask for the business; the client’s job is to decide whether to buy. If we measure our performance only by whether they say yes or no, we may be judging ourselves…
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When confidence outruns understanding
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: Confident misunderstanding can cause an organization to define the wrong problem, accept the wrong reality and commit itself to the wrong direction. Once that happens, talent, strategy and execution begin amplifying the error. Confusion can be uncomfortable, but it carries an important admission: we know that we…
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They Asked for Training. I Asked Why.
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal Post in two sentences: A request for customer service training became a six-country customer journey mapping engagement because one question revealed that the problem had been misdiagnosed. Return on Decision begins before execution: it is determined by whether we solve the visible problem we were given or take the time to…
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When 99% Right Is 100% Wrong
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal Post in two sentences: Some decisions tolerate approximation. Others don’t, and the difference between success and failure is often the one assumption, detail, or dependency you failed to understand before taking action. In technology, “almost correct” often has the same outcome as completely wrong. One missing bracket in a line of…
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The Anatomy of Business Dysfunction: When the Head and Gut Disconnect
Today’s 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 in two sentences: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝘆𝘀𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁. 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲. A fish stinks from the head has become shorthand for a simple truth: when organizations fail, leadership is usually to…
business dysfunction, business leadership, business strategy, Decision-Making, execution, Leadership & Practice, leadership development, middle management, operational excellence, organizational culture, organizational design, organizational effectiveness, organizational health, strategic alignment, strategy, systems thinking, workplace culture -
Yes Does Not Mean Agreement
One of the more subtle ways organizations derail themselves is by confusing agreement with commitment. The distinction seems almost insignificant until you begin looking for it; and once you find it, you will realize just how many strategic decisions are built upon an assumption that was erroneous. We tend to believe that a meeting has…
accountability, agreement, business leadership, business strategy, change management, commitment, Decision-Making, execution, execution gap, Leadership & Practice, leadership communication, leadership development, Organizational Alignment, organizational behaviour, organizational culture, organizational effectiveness, strategic alignment, Strategic thinking, team alignment -
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 -
Only Effort Belongs to You, Not Outcome
This has got to be one of the most liberating realizations in business: your effort belongs to you. The outcome does not. This statement is not excuse to lower your standards. Quite the opposite. It is an invitation to direct your energy where it can actually make a difference. You decide whether you prepare thoroughly,…
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Easy Is a Narcotic That Weakens Your Choices into Bondage
On the promotion page for his new book, Choose Hard, Live Easy – The Art of War for Decision, Making MJ DeMarco makes this bold statement: Easy is a narcotic that weakens your choices into bondage. It seduces you into a life of debt, depression and disease while promising comfort. But there is a way…
Get Clarity before the Fix
