-
Stop Fighting the Wrong Fire
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: Organizations frequently direct corrective action toward the departments where problems become visible, without establishing whether the conditions responsible for those problems originate elsewhere. Understanding how decisions, processes and activities across an organization interact can reveal why problems persist and where interventions are most likely to make a…
-
Designing With People, Not Just for Them
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: Organizations often introduce new systems and processes without adequately involving the people who understand how work actually gets done, only to interpret subsequent workarounds and inconsistent adoption as employee resistance. Designing with people rather than simply for them brings practical knowledge and experience into decisions about what…
-
Perfect Harmony, Broken Infrastructure: The Illusion of Strategic Alignment
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: An organization can have a beautifully articulated strategic plan, with its vision, mission, values and priorities appearing perfectly aligned, while its structures, systems and everyday practices contradict what it intends to achieve. Meaningful strategic alignment requires more than agreement on direction; the organization’s operating infrastructure must support…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
What Is the Minimum Condition Necessary for Your Purpose to Be Fulfilled?
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: We often confuse what we are accustomed to doing with what must be done, gradually adding conditions until the threshold for action becomes unnecessarily high. Asking what minimum condition is necessary for the purpose to be fulfilled can help us separate what is essential from everything we…
-
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
Get Clarity before the Fix
