Avoid the Moth Effect

Jun 30, 2011 | Leadership Development

Leaders, do you know why it is important that your employees know how YOU fit into the overall strategic plan? Too often, we leaders fail to clarify for our employees how OUR actions tie into and align with the overall strategic plan. To employees, our actions tend to have, what I call, 'The Moth Effect.' Have you ever tried to catch a moth that's flitting around a light bulb? There's absolutely no pattern to its flight path as it bobs and weaves all over the place trying to get to the light....

What’s It All For?

Jun 22, 2011 | Strategic Planning

Yesterday after giving a speech on leadership, I had lunch with several business owners. All of their businesses generate revenues of $5Million to $50Million in annual revenues. These are small but substantial businesses with 50-200 employees each - not solo-entrepreneurs. During my presentation, I had noticed most of the audience members taking notes, nodding, or otherwise paying close attention to my comments on strategic planning, leadership styles, and organizational development. So it was...

Succession Planning: Determine What You Need

Jun 16, 2011 | Succession Planning

The most common question I'm asked by new clients who are focusing on succession planning is: "How do I start?" It's a great question and many clients don’t anticipate the answer I give them: Start by having a very clear, well-developed strategic plan. Needless to say, when new clients hear my response, their troubled facial expressions often indicate they are thinking, "She's trying to sell us additional services we really don't need." No, I am not. But I am trying to save you money and time....

Recognize Potential

Jun 9, 2011 | Leadership Development

We recently started a six-month leadership training program with a new client. The participants are accepted into the program only after they have been nominated by someone at or above their position in the company, and they have successfully passed the program’s interview process. This organization takes their leadership development program very seriously. They have invested a lot of time, effort, money, and other resources into it. The program and its participants are closely monitored not...

To Successfully Implement the Plan – Change Behaviors

Jun 2, 2011 | Leadership Development

Implementation is normally the hardest and most frustrating part of any business planning or business development activity. You have to implement a plan that has not yet been proven successful, in addition to dealing with new and ever-occurring crises and unanticipated obstacles along the way. Sure, the planning process was tough, but the actual implementation can be brutal. To implement any major business plan successfully, expect to spend several months to several years in the actual...