The greatest enemies of real change are impatience and her cousin distraction. Unfortunately these two both look and sound similar so are often mixed up. Impatience is really important to overcome barriers and break down stubborn resistance, it brings dissatisfaction with status quo, plus the drive to make change as…
20. Where the hell are we ?
I have a simple rule when following my GPS in unfamiliar places: follow the GPS. It might take you down a strange narrow street, but it will get you where you want to go… A good Strategy will take you to unfamiliar places. A good strategy also makes it very…
19. Be Careful what you wish for…
Inevitably our series on Strategy has come to what we aim to do. What in BalancedKaizen we call Standards. No journey undertaken by a mature organization starts today. A common vanity among newly appointed leaders is to think that they can reset the path of their organization to new and…
18. Are you sure?
In our series about Strategy we now come to the question of Risk, but not the type of Risk that management consultants and others usually talk about. We’re not talking about external risks like competitors, but our fundamental attitude towards taking risks, and how the wrong attitude can turn a…
17. How do you know what to do?
Strategy is important, but it’s often misunderstood and misused. Having a defined set of objectives & priorities linked to action plans will help you achieve those objectives , but only if it helps you and your people stay aligned, and if it encourages them to grow Knowledge, not just follow.…
16. Making Pottery
“Strategy” can be a mysterious thing in business. The Leadership Industry devotes a lot of literature to it, as do most large organizations & Management Consultants, but many leaders just don’t understand it. They are also likely to be afraid to admit that they don’t. Many organizations see “Strategy” as…
15. Staying on Course..
Finally we get to the Hare and the Tortoise. Aesop’s fable about the slow old Tortoise who wins a race against the speedy but arrogant Hare. The moral is that “the race is not always to the swift..” – which is complete rubbish of course, because slowness doesn’t win races.…
14. Are you close enough?
A Fox tried to reach some delicious looking grapes, only to decide when he couldn’t reach them, that they must be sour. The moral of this ancient story is that it is natural for us to dislike or scorn something that is not within our reach. The leadership lesson is…
13. When Less is More…
A Fox and a Cat were comparing how many tricks and escapes they had from predators. The fox boasted that it had many, whilst the poor old cat only had just one, that is to climb the nearest tree. Hunters suddenly arrived with their dogs, and the cat immediately climbed…
12. What are you?
Fables aren’t just for children. They reflect and shape popular cultural beliefs but they can also reveal cultural weaknesses. Their positive moral lessons are obvious, but when turned upside down they can reveal leadership lessons as well, showing what cultural norms good leaders have to fight against to be successful.…