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Sometimes an exciting new possibility opens up for you. But should you jump on it?
That can be a tougher question than it looks on the surface. At first, it might appear simple: If I have time, and it’s not too risky, why not?
The problem can be is that you don’t know all the factors up front, and it may distract you from other things which are more important in the long run.
Read the rest of this entry »My article last week got me reflecting more about ambiguity in general. Because it’s not just about risk analysis, but dealing in an environment which is unpredictable. Where every action – or inaction – can lead to unexpected results.
It feels more important right now, because the whole world seems more unpredictable than before. But I would argue that it’s not substantially different than before, and in fact things are stabilizing after surviving the once-in-a-lifetime pandemic experience.
Read the rest of this entry »It’s easy to freak out about all the things that can go wrong.
But, as a leader, your role is to push progress forward despite the dangers. It feels like you’re caught in a bind.
But business leaders are accustomed to making decisions in an environment of risk. It’s what we need to do.
Read the rest of this entry »At the end of the year, it’s common to work on employee evaluations. Which can be a real downer for everyone involved.
If you think about it, they’re not really doing much about what can be affected: the future. So we’re doing it to justify how we have to make management decisions about pay, promotions, job roles and such.
The employee doesn’t get much value out of the whole experience, to be honest.
Read the rest of this entry »I caught the end of a report recently which was talking about the difference between top-down organizational initiatives, and bottom-up. This is something that I’ve thought about for many years.
Back when I was in the corporate world, it bugged me that people would declare that the first step in doing something significant was to get an “executive sponsor.”
I understand the logic, but it’s also an excuse to blame inaction on someone else. You’ve disempowered yourself.
Read the rest of this entry »As a leader, you probably spend most of your day responding to stuff. There are a million little things which demand immediate attention – many of them small and quickly dispensed with.
It makes you feel important, because you’re busy all the time. We’re all busy.
But busyness is not productivity. Productivity is launched from having actual thought leading to useful activity.
Read the rest of this entry »One of the key frustrations that employees have identified with returning to the office is that they haven’t heard what the plans are.
I get that. As a leader, you want to have a plan that’s solid, one that’s been checked out and can be committed to your folks. Otherwise you might look flaky.
But you have to fight that urge. Your people deserve more respect and need to know what’s in the works before it’s totally solid. And you need their feedback.
There have been a whole lot of distractions lately! I’ve had a tough time getting back to what’s important in the new year.
And this picture is so incredibly appropriate to me and the topic! I couldn’t resist. OK, Carl, get back on track.
I have a “short list” of weekly topics sitting in front of me, and that really helps. It has a handful of tasks that I need to pay attention to. And I found it important that this is on an actual sheet of paper on my desk, not hidden in a window that I’ll probably cover up.
Read the rest of this entry »Things seem really heavy right now, don’t they? Emotions are running high because of all the weighty decisions we’re faced with.
It’s a complex environment, but you don’t have to react that way.
You might even have fun!
Read the rest of this entry »A lot of the people I’m working with are immobilized. These are smart people, experienced. But we’re faced with a situation that few of us have ever seen in our lifetimes.
Everything is uncertain. We’re dealing with a virus and recession with no reliable projections for resolution.
Literally nobody on the planet knows what the next six months will look like.
So how do we make decisions in this environment?
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The Values-Based Business 