When I moved into a senior leadership position in early 2023 I found a core skill to be missing in the leadership team. Almost no one led with their conclusion and instead built up their position through a lengthy speech. Almost to a person on the team it was clear…
Think of the value proposition(s) as a thread that starts with the client and runs through every part of your company. Include any first, second, or third degree touchpoint with a client. In other words, any team that affects another team, that affects a team that works with the client.…
Business processes and systems trend toward entropy. If left on their own then the only result can be disorder. The people who are at the mercy of this disorder are those that speak with and support clients and customers. We don’t make it hard to deliver great results to customers,…
A players think they’re B players. B players think they’re C players. C players think they’re A players. I forgot who said this but it wasn’t me. A players know they have a lot left to learn. B players know they have a long way to go. C players don’t…
There’s a large number of things that, if you took them away, I’d still find a way to make things happen. On the other hand, there’s a small number of things that I really don’t have the time to re-learn, desire to re-experience, or money to re-buy. So here’s a…
Not a whole lot of progress over the past two days, basically refining strategic partner and investor pitches as well as getting access to credit and operating cash. There has been a huge breakthrough but I’m not yet prepared to share it. But I can share this… Someone said to…
I learned three key elements this week: Fear precedes making a decision, focus comes after you make a decision. Keep an eye on mistakes you’ve made in the past (HBR’s latest issue is the Failure Issue) and learn from them. Take inventory of them. What decisions did you make, why…
For those creative individuals that are submitting new cost cutting or product ideas, the incentive may not be strictly financial. That may be a portion of it, but the overall thrill of creating something may be from getting an opportunity to participate in bringing the idea or product to fruition.…
Or… Allow your employees the latitude to become experts on their own. For those rare and truly passionate people who’s outside interests and daily jobs mesh – giving them latitude to grow and be recognized as team, corporate and then industry experts grows you and your business as well. It…
If you’re setting out to brainstorm new ideas and concepts, here’s some things I’ve experienced over the past few years that may help. 1) Get a great facilitator. Someone that’s open minded, will keep people on track and will get people to contribute. 2) Put a great question together and…
Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want (Strategyzer) by Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Gregory Bernarda, Alan Smith
Beyond the Obvious: Killer Questions That Spark Game-Changing Innovation by Phil McKinney