Empathic Listening When I first became a Vistage Chair several years ago, I thought I already had good listening skills. I was wrong. Since then, I have become convinced that if everyone knew how to truly listen, relationships and businesses would vastly improve. Let’s briefly explore listening. Understanding others would…
Tactical Planning-Annual Goals Empirical evidence shows that the most successfully attained goals are visible, written and motivating. Once you have designed your "Big Picture", your next step is to break it down into smaller components that can be easily communicated and tracked. For each strategic initiative, identify what you specifically…
At the end of each year, I ask each of my members to go through a focus process and construct their “Big Picture” for the upcoming year. This includes (re)envisioning a point in the future and selecting what actions (also called strategic initiatives or multi-term goals) will move their…
Most people love quotes and I am one of them. Here are some of my favorites: "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." Anais Nin “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” Socrates “When the rate of change outside a company exceeds…
In my previous post, I talked about organizational barriers. Here is a personal experience that illustrates how one Senior Manager quickly erected them. I was hired to bring the accounting functions of two large healthcare organizations together. “Merger babies” was the unofficial title for new employees hired during this…
Webster’s Dictionary defines a barrier as “something immaterial that impedes or separates.” Barriers are so easy to build in an organization. In his book, “The Looming Tower”, Lawrence Wright describes a mind blowing example (pgs. 387-389): “The Justice Department promulgated a new policy in 1995 designed to regulate the exchange…
Self Mastery-Busting the Personality Barrier We’ve all experienced the leader who knows everything. The successful, unaware individual who has not experienced failure and has had no reason to let go of past ideas and change his behavior. As a result, his frame of mind shuts down learning and listening, prevents new…
Unless you plan on living forever (I have a member who does), someday you will exit your company. Your company’s value will be significantly impacted by how well the company runs without you, as the CEO. Do you believe that your company must change as fast as the rest of…
One of my members recently said that it is easier to start a new organization than it is to change one. Pretend that you are starting over. You are the architect. Design your organization. What is strategic focus or framework of your company? Three are described in the book, “The…
The Two Vital Functions of CEOs Over my 30 year career, I have worked for or with a couple hundred of CEOs and Senior Executives. Of all the important responsibilities of a CEO’s job, two stand out as vital: Focus and Barrier Busting. The speed of change, 24/7 connectivity and…
What are Self-Observation and the Inner Observer? August 14, 2017 The Enneagram personality system has changed my life. Not only…
Organizational Context = Culture March 5, 2018 We began this series with an invitation to think about…
The Art of Question Asking: The Other Half of… July 12, 2011 Elvis Costello keeps singing in my head. “What so hard…
What is Individual Context and Why You Should Care January 8, 2018 In my work, I have the privilege of working with…
Why Context in Relationships Matters February 5, 2018 Part 1 of this series covered individual (personal) context. This…
