Even my best clients have been known to forget some of the most critical distinctions, so I thought some reminders were in order.
In my last newsletter, I wrote about “Metric Madness” at nonprofits. The very next day, a perfect example made its appearance in the Boston Globe: Study urges curriculum shift to aid Boston students’ success in college. In a nutshell, the Boston Public Schools decided not to require the state-wide MassCore college preparatory curriculum, reportedly because they thought it would hurt graduation rates.
It’s all the rage to measure results and progress. Which is good! But, if you don’t know what to measure, it can be a disaster. I work with a lot of nonprofits that are really struggling to figure this out. Time for a dose of clarity! There are three basic types of metrics.
Idaho – a great place to be in May! Why? Probably many reasons, but here is one: I will be the opening keynote speaker at the Elevate Leadership Summit in Pocatello. I’m looking forward to it! You could be too!
If I overlook some of my personal fiascos such as: the airline that sold us nonstop tickets to London and then put us on a plane that couldn’t cross the Atlantic without refueling and the major appliance manufacturer with initials GE that decided it was easier to replace our six-month-old washing machine instead of sending a repairman to make adjustments – and then left us with a brand new machine that won’t run at all If I ignore those, and, instead, consider the many businesses I’ve worked with or talked with recently as a consultant, I’m pretty impressed. Lots of them are doing many things really well. But, of course, everyone can do better. So let me share some of the areas where I see the most pain and the greatest opportunity for improvement.
In a recent article of mine, “This Is Your Only Life. Are You Putting Yourself First?,” I encourage you to put yourself first because doing so not only makes you healthier mentally, physically, and emotionally, but it also makes you more productive and effective. One reader responded by saying the ideas were nice and simple in theory, but not realistic. He blamed the “work landscape” for making them impossible. I thought that reaction might be quite common and, thus, worthy of discussion. There are three problems with this reader’s response:
I have worked with clients representing over 40 industries including corporate giants and numerous non-profits. While all of these organizations benefit from clarity, strategic and operational, many of the people I work with also suffer one or more of three bad habits that prevent them from maximizing their effectiveness and that of their employees.
August. Our last full month of summer here in the Northern Hemisphere. This got me thinking back to my corporate days. Sitting in my climate controlled office. Not always anywhere near a window. Sometimes I forgot what month it was. Not in relation to all my deadlines, of course. Just in relation to the seasons. It was always the same inside. When I left in the evening, there were times when I was actually surprised by what I encountered. Darkness vs. light. Heat vs. frost. Seasons slipped by as quietly as the fair weather clouds. Does this happen to you? In an era where the word mindfulness is never more than a few dozen words away, it really shouldn’t. But does it?
Wisteria is a climbing vine that drapes big, gorgeous clusters of lilac-colored flowers like a cascading waterfall. It is fairly easy to grow, so much so that it can get out of control and spread wildly. However, did you know that Chinese wisteria twines counterclockwise as it climbs and Japanese wisteria climbs clockwise? If you try to train these two plants in the same direction, you will succeed brilliantly with one and fail dismally with the other. The same is true of people. Your employees are as individual as the multitude of plants that thrive in widely varying conditions. Techniques that help one person thrive drive another person crazy. I think you know this as well as I do.
A headline caught my eye the other day. I don’t remember where or what it said. All I remember is that it contained the phrase “actionable strategy.” And it has bothered me ever since. So what could “actionable strategy” possibly mean? Perhaps more importantly, what does it mean to have a strategy that is not actionable?