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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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Don’t Make Fear the Organizing Principle of Your Life
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: Fear does not always look like fear; sometimes it looks remarkably like preparation, responsibility, control or good judgment. The question may not only be what decision we are making, but how much fear is influencing the choice. Fear does not always show up in a way we…
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Stand for something publicly
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal Post in two sentences: An organization’s values become meaningful when they begin to influence what it chooses, protects, refuses and is willing to sacrifice. Stand for something clearly enough and consistently enough, and eventually you will not have to tell people what matters to you because they will be able to…
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People either survive in the jungle or exist in the zoo
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: Businesses often ask for initiative, accountability and adaptability without examining whether their systems actually allow those behaviours to develop. Before deciding that people need to change, it may be worth asking what the organization has been teaching them to do. I heard this line in The Gentlemen:…
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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 -
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 -
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 -
The Leaders We Have Vs. Leaders We Need
One of the defining strategic challenges of this decade is the widening gap between the leaders we have and the leaders we need. This is not simply a leadership shortage. It is a leadership mismatch. Organizations continue to promote people into roles that were designed for yesterday’s problems while expecting them to solve tomorrow’s. The…
adaptive leadership, business strategy, change management, continuous learning, executive leadership, future of leadership, future of work, Leadership & Practice, leadership design, leadership development, leadership mindset, organizational culture, organizational development, Strategic Alignment Journal, strategic leadership, systems thinking -
After 365 Days…this is what I know
Today marks 365 consecutive days of writing the Strategic Alignment Journal. When I published the first article, I couldn’t have predicted where the journey would take me. I thought I was writing about leadership, alignment, organizational culture, strategy, decision-making, systems thinking, psychology, philosophy, and constraints. Looking back, I realize I wasn’t writing about different subjects…
Get Clarity before the Fix
