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There are some horrendous fires going on in Nebraska right now, so it was the whole topic of discussion this weekend when I was talking with friends who are affected.
It reminded me of work that I did in disaster planning, and a conversation I had with my wife in 2013 when fires came within just a few miles of our house.
The question is: How do you possibly save what’s important? In fact, what is important?
Read the rest of this entry »I’ve had lots of opportunities to create and facilitate strategic plans.
A lot of people complain that these kinds of plans get put on a shelf after the flurry of activity, then never looked at again. Which is totally true.
But I’d like to offer a different viewpoint, a bit less pessimistic.
Read the rest of this entry »It’s all so unfair! This shouldn’t happen!
You may be absolutely right. But if you’re stuck in this state of frustration, you’ll never move on to useful progress.
Life is unfair, my friend. Business is unfair.
Read the rest of this entry »It’s a new year, fresh with possibilities! Let’s go team!
But you might be battling against winter blahs, uncertain economy, or still reeling from the craziness of the holiday season.
It can be hard to get people energized in that situation. But as a leader, it’s part of your job to be a cheerleader.
Read the rest of this entry »Any time I see a “proposal” or “recommendation”, I cringe a little.
The problem is that this almost always entails adding work into whatever system we’re talking about. Want to improve marketing? Add more money, more people, more work. We should start this valuable program? More money, more work, more time.
That’s how we get overloaded.
Read the rest of this entry »We are in a time of preparation before the year-end holidays.
When I was a child, I could never wait for the excitement. School holidays, new snow, Christmas gifts, meeting up with family … the anticipation was almost too much to bear!
I’ve had to learn a bit of patience. But this also applies to business and my various volunteering roles.
Read the rest of this entry »I love it when a plan comes together.
But here’s the problem: How often is your perfect plan disrupted by reality? It seems that surprises always come up, whether good or bad.
Your job as the leader is to help your team navigate through that mess in real time.
Read the rest of this entry »What does it mean to truly be committed to something?
In the workplace, we let the concept become very slippery. We ask people to commit to a deadline, and try to hold them “accountable” for that, but despite that many things don’t get done on time or done properly.
So let’s take a moment to step back and look at the concept of making a work commitment.
Read the rest of this entry »Uncertainty is an inherent part of being in business.
Of course, it runs directly counter to what we want to do, which is planning. And in a previous career, I was directly in this dilemma, creating disaster plans and alternative scenarios and backups.
Unfortunately, business results come from doing stuff, not from planning. So how do you deal this this?
Read the rest of this entry »When I do something, paid or volunteer, I want to do it well.
And when I do that, people become dependent on me. Especially if I’m playing a unique role.
I become a single point of failure for the organization. Which means that if something happens to me, things will fall apart. So it can be a trap.
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The Values-Based Business 