Managing High Performers
Management advice often includes guidance on managing low performance. There is less written about managing high performance.
This disparity exists for two reasons:
High performance is less common than low performance, because high performers usually get promoted into positions with higher expectations. Underperformance is in every role; high performance gets leveled-up into expectation-meeting performance. Most managers mismanage high performers. In fact, most managers don’t really manage them at all. So, there are fewer managers who know how to manage high performers, let alone managers to write about it.
What follows is our main advice for managing high performers.
Evergreen notes
Evergreen notes are written and organized to evolve, contribute, and accumulate over time, across projects. This is an unusual way to think about writing notes: Most people take only transient notes. That’s because these practices aren’t about writing notes; they’re about effectively developing insight: “Better note-taking” misses the point; what matters is “better thinking”. When done well, these notes can be quite valuable: Evergreen note-writing as fundamental unit of knowledge work.
^ADJ: Great note taking is a skill to behold, to train for, and to get better at!
Why Isn’t Your Strategy Sticking?
It’s insufficient to just share the goals and objectives of your strategy and hope implementation will succeed. In this article, the author explains how to shift from an operational to a contextual mindset so that you can better identify the hidden obstacles that may be thwarting your strategy’s implementation so you can address them before they take root.
Do you have an “early days” generative AI strategy?
Organizations at the forefront of generative AI adoption address six key priorities to set the stage for success.
^ADJ: I really like P4: Develop a productivity plan
Michael Porter’s Three Great Strategy Contributions
Michael E. Porter is a giant in the field of business and last fall retired to Professor Emeritus status. On March 27, 2024, I am speaking at a Harvard Business School (HBS) seminar celebrating his life’s work. I thought I would give a more edgy version of what I will discuss at the seminar in Michael Porter’s Three Great Strategy Contributions: He Saved, He Bolstered, and He Provoked ....
Jim Collins coached Jeff Bezos and Amazon
He estimates that only 3% of the world has figured out their “Ikagai” or “Hedgehog”.
Here’s what they are and how you find yours ....