Where we're going to go in this post is to discuss each of the 3 elements of successful strategy execution in detail individually, but also recognize that they're mutually reinforcing. They are not necessarily done sequentially but in fact, support one another and are done iteratively and support each other over time. So when one thinks of strategic analysis, one wants to think about analyzing a strategy, doing the work to try to figure out and conceive of a strategy. Formulation refers to the process by which strategy is set in the organization. Maybe it's a strategic planning process done on an annual or biannual level, but it also refers to the organizational elements that bring together to devise the strategy. Finally, implementation refers to once we have envisioned our strategy, how do we actually bring it to bear. Again, strategy execution requires proper analysis, proper formulation, and ultimately, proper implementation.
Being an effective leader is about two core tasks: making decisions to address threats and opportunities, and implementing those decisions. Implementing decisions is about the willingness of the targets of implementation to exert effort. It is not enough for the targets of implementation to know what to do (information) – they also have to want to do it (motivation).
Decision analysis provides individuals a systematic approach to making decisions. Unfortunately, no one knows everything and individual decisions are often biased by a decision-maker’s unique perspective. Inclusiveness – inviting others to help make a decision – should result in better decisions than any individual alone could make. Using a group of decision makers to make a decision should improve decision making quality because (1) more decision makers means more information, so decisions made by groups rather than individuals should be more informed decisions, and (2) more decision makers means more perspectives, so decisions made by groups rather than individuals should be less biased by any one individual’s unique perspective.
In this blog post, we're going to be talking about decision making. The central challenge in making good decisions is that we have to make decisions under uncertainty. The way we manage uncertainty leads us to make decisions in ways that are biased and not necessarily fully rational. So here we're going to talk about the biases that are triggered by making decisions under uncertainty and how to overcome those biases to make sound decisions.
The challenge of leadership is that we live in a “fast” business world. That means things happen quickly in an organization’s environment, and in order to survive, leaders have to get their organizations to react equally quickly – and effectively – when those things happen. That ability to react quickly is called agility, and the best leaders use their leadership skills to make their organizations agile.
Strategy doesn't really exist in isolation in my opinion. When a company is executing on its strategy, it needs to consider its external and internal environment.
The external environment are aspects such as competitors, changing consumer preferences etc. etc. Internal environment represents understanding your strengths and weaknesses as a company and also having a strong stance on your culture and values of your company.
Most professionals don’t think of their careers in terms of a blueprint. Instead they equate careers to “having a good job”. Instead, I’d like to present in this chapter an alternative definition of thinking about your career. These are the same techniques that I have used to take my career from an entry level employee to Chief Operating Officer of a private software company and now to the CEO and Founder of my own company. These are the same techniques that high 6 and 7 figure executives use when defining and executing their own careers. These are the same techniques that I’ve used when building teams across every functional area during my 12-year executive career. This chapter will go through the blueprint in detail.
In today’s post, I’d like to lay out a framework for the job search process. Specifically, I’d like to list out 15 steps that if you start following, I believe you should start seeing success right away.
A few questions to get started:
1. Have you ever felt that you have been stuck in a job rut in your life, doing the same things again and again and not knowing where your career is going?
2. Have you ever tried to make a change, tried applying to several jobs online, possibly tried to reach out to people on LinkedIn only to never hear back?
3. Have you wondered why there are some folks who are able to take their careers all the way to the “next level” becoming executives and getting promotion after promotion regularly and then there are some others who are pretty much stuck in a job rut, only going to work for the sake of a paycheck?
If you fall into one of these categories then this post if for you. So, with that background out of the way, let’s get directly into the post.
In this post, we will discuss the concept of leadership in a virtual world. In a virtual context the role of a leader becomes more and more important, especially when bringing the teams together. This is because there are informational and motivational challenges associated with working together virtually.
In this post, we will discuss the # 1 tool that all leaders should use for effective daily leadership - Inclusiveness. Leaders have two main tasks - to make decisions and implement decisions. Making decisions is all about setting the direction of where we want to go and implementation is about doing the work to get there.
The best leaders use inclusiveness as a tool to do these tasks effectively. There are two main benefits of inclusiveness
From an information standpoint, leaders can make better decisions as they receive information from everyone's real world experiences. At the same time, the quality of implementation can increase given the flow of information across the implementers.
Additionally, there are motivational benefits as the implementers feel more involved in the decision making process and take ownership over achieving the final goal that the leader has set out.
In this post, we will discuss what it means to be a leader in today's fast paced, competitive agile environment. We'll also use this as an opportunity to distinguish between leaders and managers. The gist is that leaders lead through influence, by bringing people together and influencing them to achieve a goal. Managers on the other hand use authrotity to make people do work.
In this video, I will discuss a 9 step framework that you can use to research a company before your upcoming interviews. Specifically, I recommend researching the following:
