Tag: Strategic Thinking

Do you have a clear, well-thought-out strategy? Do you and your team have the leadership skills to align the troops and get them fired up to execute that strategy? If not, don’t despair, but get to work!

In a recent blog, I suggested that people keep an “I wonder…” list of questions. After traveling to Cuba last month, I came back with a few additions. Two are: “Why do we still have an embargo against Cuba when it doesn’t appear to be doing any good?” (my research says there’s no good reason, […]

I’m on a flight with my window shade open, looking at clouds, field patterns, a river, and communities. I wonder where the roads go, which community that is, what their major industry is, whether that river has trout. I also wonder why only one other person in my section has their window shade open. I […]

How was your day? If it was “average,” you probably put out some fires, fielded questions, responded to requests, and dealt with a few surprises. All necessary requirements of senior leadership. But did you also think about the future, develop plans, proactively eliminate some risks, and identify growth opportunities for the business, your people, and […]

There are many business growth axioms and metaphors, mostly about trees, rivers, or children. But does a business really need to grow? Can it just tread water? Can it stay in childhood? Must it keep moving like a shark or die?  I’ve run into a few business leaders who aren’t interesting in growing, all in […]

Once there was a company so bold, They ignored artificial intelligence, they were so cold. They thought they knew better, they thought they were smart, But oh how they faltered, and oh how they fell apart. They refused to listen, to algorithms and code, They stuck to their old ways, and thought themselves bestowed. But […]

My son recently left a job (perhaps torture chamber is a more apt description) and was fretting because he didn’t know what he wanted to do. We had a long chat, and he devised a plan, even though he still didn’t have clarity. Doing nothing isn’t an option. Several weeks later, a client referred a […]

My friend and I raced to Alcova, Wyo., one night to fish the Grey Reef section of the North Platte River. After spending the day on the Cache la Poudre River outside of Fort Collins, Colo. we were heading to “the Reef,” which has thousands of large trout per mile. We figured we would have […]

“Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.” —Warren Buffett Sixty percent of CEOs surveyed by The Conference Board believe that economic conditions will worsen in the short term, and I suspect they’re correct. Warren Buffett, however, is on a buying spree. Over the short and medium term, emotions play a […]

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” —Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, “The Little Prince”[1] “It sure would help if we knew where we were going!” the chief marketing officer said to me. I […]