My sympathies lie with managers and knowledge workers. They are hard working, devoted, and always expected to accomplish more with less. And while you could say the same for other employees, the managers and knowledge workers face special challenges—challenges unrecognized and unappreciated by their supervisors, and even by themselves. To make these challenges crystal clear, I’ll divide the workforce into two categories based on one simple criteria:
I am so honored and appreciative that these amazing, busy people took the time to read my newest book and provide an endorsement!
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.
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.
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?
The biggest problem with the way organizations think about strategy is they confuse strategy with plans. They aren’t the same thing. Strategic planning is an oxymoron. It is also the reason why strategic planning often misses the mark and why I always work extra closely with prospective clients to clarify expectations before I even agree to work with them. Let’s start with a definition
Strategies fail more often than they succeed. Occasionally it’s because they are stupid strategies. Most of the times the cause is a lack of clarity – a lack of specificity about where you are headed, how you will get there, and what must change. Consider these examples of typical failures:
The year is half over. If that is bad news for you, I am sorry to be the one to break it! In our not too distant past, weather, daylight hours, changing seasons, and the calendar year ruled all. These days – not so much! Nonetheless, old habits die hard and that calendar controls far too much in the business world. While you reflect on progress to date at this half-year mark, reflect also on all the things that should NOT be controlled by the calendar year. Here are a few just for starters: Strategic planning Budgeting Performance reviews Goal setting Something to ponder while at the beach this summer. Have a great July!
During my early days in the corporate world, one of my jobs included developing the software that synchronized and backed up all the data needed to control the generation and transmission of power for Great Britain. The project manager made the rounds every Friday to update his Gantt chart. He stepped through each activity and asked me for an updated percent complete. I struggled with this exercise and finally, when my tasks hit 67%, I refused to play. Despite my long list of open tasks marked two-thirds complete, I promised him we’d be finished on time. This tracking ritual continued weekly and every Friday he could hardly contain his anger with me. He told me my group was going to ruin the whole project. I told him not to worry. My promises did nothing to relieve his anxiety. Meanwhile, all the other leads were marching steadily toward the finish line and keeping him happy. 70%. 75%. 78%. 80%. 82%. To increase the pressure on the laggards, the charts were posted on the wall. Practically everyone was in the 90s and my group still showed 67%.