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Building on an Assumption Is Shaky Ground
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal post in two sentences: When a solution isn’t working, we often look for what needs to change in the solution rather than questioning what we assumed about the problem. Before investing in another fix, it may be worth going back to the assumption on which everything else was built. We make…
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The Distortion isn’t in the Tool
Today’s Strategic Alignment Journal Post in two sentences: The quality of AI’s output often reflects the quality of the thinking we bring to it, making the real issue less about the tool and more about the user. Before evaluating any tool, it is worth examining the thinking behind deciding to use it in the first…
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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 -
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 -
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 -
What Happens When the Obvious is Misleading?
The obvious deserves attention. It just doesn’t always deserve to be part of the conclusion. We are conditioned to respond to what we can see. Most of us don’t witness the beginning of a problem. We encounter it only after it has worked its way to the surface. By then, what we call “the problem”…
business leadership, business strategy, continuous improvement, critical thinking, Decision-Making, executive leadership, Leadership & Practice, leadership development, Organizational Alignment, organizational development, organizational effectiveness, pre-decision diagnostics, problem solving, root cause analysis, sensemaking, strategic diagnosis, Strategic thinking, strategy, systems thinking -
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…
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Beware of Inertia
Have you ever walked into a room looking for something and forgotten why you entered? For a moment, you stand there trying to reconstruct your original purpose. You moved and are now standing in the room yet somewhere along the way, you forgot your reason for being there in the first place. Organizations can experience…
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Agreement Does Not Guarantee Alignment
Agreement and alignment are often used interchangeably, but they describe very different conditions. Agreement is relatively simple. It occurs when people arrive at a common position or decision. A proposal is accepted. A contract is signed. A partnership is formed. A strategy is approved. Agreement answers the question: Do we support this? Alignment is something…
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How Do You Get More Likes on LinkedIn?
I have no freaking idea. Seriously. Three hundred-plus posts later, I have managed to move from getting zero likes on some posts to perhaps a fairly consistent four or five. If you’re looking for an algorithm expert, this is probably where you should stop reading. I’m not complaining though. At least, not anymore. As human…
Get Clarity before the Fix
