The Different Approaches To Setting Strategy

I have been living with this subject for the last 6 months.  I have become a fan of Michael Porter and am just beginning to understand how important strategy is to sustainable competitive advantage.  At the end of the day, there are only so many organizational efficiency changes you can Read more…

The Chemistry Of Great Teams

I have probably learned more from Pat MacMillan on this subject than from any other writer.  His book The Performance Factor is still a must read if you want to fully understand all the dynamics involved in leading a successful team. When selecting team members you must have the right Read more…

4 Ways To Improve Your Strategic Thinking

One of the greatest challenges I face as an executive coach is to help leaders see the difference in operational efficiency and strategic initiatives.  Improvement in process and profit margin is extremely important but so is spending time on innovation and creativity.  If you are always working on the margins Read more…

5 Reasons Once Great Companies Fail

Jim Collins followed up his all time best selling leadership book Good to Great with this incredible work on why some of these once great companies now have fallen as well.  He writes, “Whether you prevail or fail, endure or die, depends more on what you do to yourself than Read more…

Short Term Thinking Leads Long Term Failure

In sharp contrast to the breakthrough impact of the companies that practiced the flywheel effect all of the organizations that could not transition from Good to Great were caught in The Doom Loop.  Instead of the consistent daily movement of the flywheel they went for the big impact event that Read more…

A Simple Way To Test Strategic Alignment

I am becoming more and more convinced that alignment is the number one factor in organizational health.  Yes, everyone has a purpose and a strategy with lots of people and process.  The real question is how does all of those moving pieces work together effectively.  The HBR post is excellent: Read more…

The Secret To Sustainable Results

The concept of the flywheel was used by Jim Collins in his best selling leadership book Good to Great.  The major point of the illustration is that significant change occurs when you do the right things repeatedly over time and eventually you will have a breakthrough that results in significant Read more…