Liz's Latest Articles
Buying a Business? Don’t Overlook the Soft-Skills
Because of the ‘shake-out’ that’s occurred with our economy over the past year, there are more companies than ever looking to sell, and therefore, more opportunities to buy. If you’re like a few of my clients, smart acquisitions are part of your strategic plan. However, as you identify criteria your ideal targeted acquisition candidates need to have (i.e., revenues, margins, location, equipment, staff, etc.), consider two 'soft-skills' items that can make or break a successful post-acquisition integration: culture fit and business infrastructure fit.
Think About Impact and Outcomes Before You Plan Your Strategic Planning Retreat
Two prospective strategic planning clients reached out to me this past week. Both organizations have a new CEO, at least two new board members each, at least two new senior staff members each, and both were requesting information on how I might facilitate their plan development during a two-day board retreat. It became quickly apparent, both CEOs were simply approaching their outreach to me as somewhat of a checklist item from their board:
Your Silence Speaks Volumes: Speak and Lead Proactively
How you communicate as a leader is critical. There’s nothing new in that. However, what I’m finding more frequently is that leaders aren’t appreciating how loudly their silence speaks to their teams and what their silence says about their leadership. Whether it’s a company president, director of regional sales, or a team lead, leaders are staying silent too often. Their silence is not motivated by a fear of crossing a line on political correctness. Their silence is instead driven by a fear of unintentionally influencing their team’s thoughts or behaviors, and potentially stifling their team’s ability to take on new challenges. So instead, they say and do nothing.
Stay Relevant. Be Strategic. Do What Matters Most
The COVID pandemic has changed not only how and where we work, it’s also changed our priorities and perspectives. What used to be a typical day at the office, has become an extended day of jumping between working remotely, home schooling our kids, serving as on-site technical support for our kids and as remote support for our parents, all while monitoring the status of our grocery delivery to ensure the doorbell doesn’t announce its arrival during a virtual client meeting. What used to be a typical day at the office, has become an extended day of jumping between working remotely, home schooling our kids, serving as on-site technical support for our kids and as remote support for our parents, all while monitoring the status of our grocery delivery to ensure the doorbell doesn’t announce its arrival during a virtual client meeting. We are now finding that what used to matter has changed. What we used to have under control, we don’t. What we used to know as givens, are not. And, what used to be typical 3 to 5 to 10+ year strategic planning, has become 12 to 18+ month strategic planning.
What Leaders Need to Do Now
Given the challenging times we are experiencing, those leaders who are realizing success with their businesses, organizations, associations, and memberships, are those who are doing three things intentionally
