What the World Cup Can Teach Business Leaders About Top Performers
Our people are our greatest source of competitive advantage. This sentiment is often heralded in companies by everyone from middle managers to HR professionals to CEOs. It is a great sound bite. The problem: It is not true—at least, not entirely. An organization's star performers are its source of competitive advantage, and only if they are strategically assigned to the most critical roles.
^ADJ: I am halfway through a book that had CEOs do an exercise. Divide a piece of paper in 1/2. Write down the critical roles within the company that drive value and profitability as a list on the first half of the paper, on the second half, list your top performers and then see how they align.
Six Habits of Merely Effective Negotiators
Most executives know the basics of negotiation; some are spectacularly adept. Yet even experienced negotiators routinely leave money on the table, end up in deadlock, damage relationships, or allow conflicts to spiral. They fall prey to common mistakes that keep them from solving the right negotiation problem.
^ADJ: I have found the following Insead course to be valuable if you are interested in becoming a more effective negociator.
What I have been reading
This week I finished two books, that may be of interest:
The Perfect Legal Business, Simon McCrum. Whilst targeted at the Legal Profession, a good read for all professionals with a partnership model, and or leaders of such groups. Three key takeout's for me, having a legal business, what is true Marketing of a professional service firm and Gross Margin. If you are interested in this area, would also recommend anything by David Maister, particularly - Strategy and the Fat Smoker
Insight, Tasha Eurich. A good read on developing your sense of insight about yourself and how you are viewed - confronting! Some good tips on developing the skills, backed by research and studies as to why they are effective. If you want one easy-to-implement takeout, try this: ask your children or someone close to you, what is the one thing that annoys them most about you. Nothing off limits, and use the 3R model for feedback: Receive, Reflect on and Respond (later). All feedback is a gift, but a line in the book helped me: "how will this affect my long-term success and well-being". I asked my daughter this morning, and apparently, signing her up for additional shifts at work without asking her is not appreciated!
How Busy People Can Develop Leadership Skills
Leadership development should be recognized as an ongoing part of professional life. And while dipping in and focusing on it when time allows is great, as we all know, time doesn’t always allow. That doesn’t mean that you can’t develop your skills. All it takes to become a better leader is dedication and a small investment of time.
‘I’m Almost Done’
With workers distracted at home so much, procrastination may be quietly reaching epic proportions. Should firms start to take the issue seriously?
Stop flying blind
Leveraging diverse perspectives helps avoid blind spots. Yet we still see leaders continuing to use practices that restrict access to vital data. People are allowed to interrupt one another. They are afraid to admit to errors. They jump to solutions before carefully considering the evidence. Or, worse still, they only accept evidence that is consistent with their preferences. These behaviours come at a major cost. Yet there are simple interventions you can take to counteract them – and you can implement them at whatever organizational level you occupy.