Do you have high school or university students in your family? Last week I had a discussion with a second-year B.Com (Investment) student, the daughter of a friend. We discussed how to learn.
In the 21st century, we all need to learn continuously. Many of my clients will recognise the principles of learning. I personally use them in trying to master important new material. In the text that follows I only provide a brief outline. read more »
One client was not over the moon about my rather in-depth overview of Henry Mintzberg’s Management (and HM includes leadership under management). Another said my newsletters are too long.
Fortunately I discovered my notes made in 2005 on Jack Welsh’s Eight Rules of Leadership.
Welsh, formerly CEO of General Electric, was named the top manager of the 20th century. read more »
Some of my clients have read Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. I bought a copy in 1993 but only read it in 1999 – and regretted not having done so sooner.
It is with sadness that I learned of his passing this month – which led me to rereading The Seven Habits. Through the years I have read a number of Covey’s books and also valued The 8th Habit.
While The Seven Habits in style is not a classic business book, it covers the domain of leading/managing in an intriguing and thoughtful way. It prompted me to write this post. read more »
Any MD or leader senses that a change in strategy means a change in execution and in behaviour. I have clients who are by now well-versed in leading change and who really relish the execution process especially as they are experiencing success on various levels.
Others who have sailed through usually invigorating strategic planning sessions are still struggling in getting an execution process in place. To them the new processes and new systems which need to be mastered are daunting. They fail to committ themselves step by step.
Every MD knows that execution and changing the behaviour of those you lead are the difficult parts. Google glibly shows that about 15 million articles have been written about the “execution of strategy” and 6.6 million on “leading change”. Save yourself some reading by reading only one checklist on leading change, developed by John P. Kotter, formerly from Harvard University, the preeminent change guru.*1 I abbreviated the content of his eight points to make it even easier.
Have you been subjected to talks with PowerPoint presentations that bored you to distraction?
When I notice that a speaker is going to use a PowerPoint presentation, I am all anticipation: Is it going to be interesting or boring? Probably boring. Is that not also your expectation? How often have you been exposed to a speaker who simply made you sit up and take notice with a presentation that somehow worked?
Why did he or she succeed? Well, let’s consider what needs to be done and ensure that you become part of a minority that delivers successful presentations. PowerPoint is, without doubt, a very useful tool in getting concepts across. (Note there is a difference between a presentation which is delivered in person and a slide presentation meant for mailing, reading and study.) read more »
Do you as MD hold too few meetings and rather depend on sending internal e-mails about important matters to managers and other team members who are in your proximity? Or if you hold meetings, how sensitive are you to the patterns of communication in the room?
Wearable electronic sensors that captured patterns of communication without recording the discussions have provided data worth taking note of. With remarkable consistency, the data showed that the most important predictor of a team’s success was its communication patterns. And these patterns were as significant as all others factors – intelligence, personality, skills, strengths and the substance of discussions – combined.
keywords: effective communication, effective meetings, leadershipAll MDs and their teams try to produce better results. As a consultant I assist them in doing so. Moving to a higher level means change. And change is not easy.
People have a lot of resistance to change. They have entrenched work habits. They have mindsets. A new strategy means learning and doing new things and there is often resistance, for whatever reason, to such learning. read more »
All of us have experienced moments when we are stuck – and often a few times per day. We know what we have to do, but find a good reason for not doing it. We procrastinate. Or come up with an excuse or cop-out.
We have developed fixed mindsets about what we can and can’t do and about many other things. We create some realities which serve as positively, but we also create some which do not serve us.
Often we simply believe we can’t. Is it true? read more »
keywords: build people, change management, learningWhy do so few entrepreneurs put a proper set of systems in place? Most of my clients started their companies as entrepreneurs who progressed far in an intuitive and practical manner. In the course of building their companies, most installed two or more excellent systems. However, this was often done piecemeal and not as part of a greater scheme of things. Most are PC-based systems. Very often crucial soft systems are not in place e.g. planning and execution systems.
The result is that many MDs experience serious strain each day. As MD you might consider expanding your already successful company, products and services but baulk at doing as you are afraid that the load which you personally carry will increase. The problem is that you are the system. All operations run through you. You experience unhealthy strain and overwhelm. Any change or expansion will only increase your personal load. read more »
A client enthusiastically drew my attention to an article about operational innovation as a way to change a company. This article is so full of down-to-earth common sense that I would like to share some of its ideas with all my clients.
Michael Hammer, author of Deep Change – How Operational Innovation Can Transform a Company (Harvard Business Review, April 2004), provided an example in the USA auto insurance business which might also intrigue you. All South Africans will have noted what our insurance companies have been doing over the past five years. We have all seen a series of insurance ads on TV. You may even have experienced a better service. It would appear that some SA insurance companies had taken note of what Progressive Insurance did. Although you may not in the insurance industry, what could you consider doing with reference to this example? read more »
keywords: innovation, leadership, organisational learning