Breaking In and Standing Out
Strategy
Rock musicians are rarely who we look to for examples of strategic thinkers. In the genre’s heavy hitters such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Jimi Hendrix, we find careers and even lives lost to scandals, drugs, and burnout. The typical American image of a rock star tends to be someone that exists in the moment, lives hard, and likely does not plan for the future. In spite of this, strategic thinking would seem a necessity in the music industry – one of the most competitive areas imaginable.
Most highschoolers who pick up…
Read more.What Matters Most in Today’s Leadership
Leadership
It hardly seems worth noting that the last four years have been turbulent. But a statement by the authors of the article, “The Five New Foundational Qualities of Effective Leadership,” in Strategy + Business did create a moment of pause. They stated, “numerous leaders who were at the top of the CEO succession list in 2019 are no longer deemed fit-for-purpose by company directors. In the 10 to 15% of organizations we have worked with in which the 2019 top successor is still viewed as the best choice, those executives have often made significant, overt shifts in…
Read more.Preparing for the Inevitable
Strategy
There are a some things in life most of us just didn’t see coming; movie casting choices, fashion trends, fusion restaurants. But most of the big events that shaped our generation like wars, pandemics, and financial crises provided warning signs we chose to ignore. President George W. Bush said in November 2005, “In a pandemic, everything from syringes to hospital beds, respirators, masks and protective equipment would be in short supply.” Then in 2014, President Obama said, “there may and likely will come a time in which we have an airborne disease that is deadly. And in…
Read more.Uncovering the Mystery of Greatness
Leadership
Book stores are full of titles promising to provide the guaranteed formula for achieving success. Usually there are five to ten action items cleverly phrased to make them memorable because they are basically common sense ideas. Ron Friedman in Decoding Greatness focuses more on the process for discovering the formula. The book’s subtitle reveals his recommended approach – “How the Best in the World Reverse Engineer Success.”
Identifying someone who has become successful in an area you desire and carefully studying what makes them successful seems like another common sense idea. Friedman breaks down…
Read more.Your Winning Identity
Leadership
Every March, college basketball in the US takes center stage with a series of conference, regional, and finally national championship tournaments. Typically, following each game there is a quick interview with the winning coach and a player who performed exceptionally well. The interviews generally offer an opportunity to share the joy of the victor and hear some well worn post game cliches.
Sometimes it feels like the players have been watching each others’ interviews as certain terminology begins to be used over and over. My assumption is the players are often repeating what the…
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