Posts Tagged ‘Execution’
January 26, 2012
The greatest achievement of the human spirit is to live up to one’s opportunities and make the most of one’s resources.
~ Marquis de Vauvenargues
Wherever your most desired destination may be, one thing is for sure – if you don’t get on the road, you will never arrive. Once you decide to embark on the less traveled path of pursuing your personal goals, it it important that you set achievable milestones in order to successfully enter the narrow gate of your desired destination. It may feel like a long journey, but with perseverance and dedication to fulfilling your potential, you will arrive…
When you have achieved that goal you have steadily been working toward, ensure you take the time to congratulate yourself and enjoy the satisfaction of having achieved what you set out to do. Absorb the implications of the achievement, and observe the progress that you’ve made towards other goals. At the very least, achieving your milestones will fuel your motivation to propel you toward your next goal – ultimately guiding you to where you want to be. Achieving even small goals (milestones) along the way will give you the self-confidence to pursue new and exciting destinations.
Whether the goal was small or large, STOP and take a little time to enjoy the moment and reward yourself appropriately. Recognize your success for what it is…SUCCESS!
Now, with the positive experience of having achieved a goal, and taking the time to properly acknowledge your accomplishment, review the journey to date and determine:
- Was the goal too easily attained? If so, make sure your remaining goals (or your next goals) stretch your capacity so that you continue to grow and arrive at new and exciting destinations.
- Did the goal take a daunting length of time to achieve? Ensure your next goals are a little more time-bound, and check the distance between your milestones.
- Did you learn something from your journey? If so, leverage your learning and use it to facilitate the journey toward future destinations.
- Did you perceive a deficit in your skills, despite achieving the goal? Think about incorporating some of the more challenging aspects of the journey onto future roadmaps in order to allow you to hone that particular skill for future journeys.
- Have you derived as much pleasure from the journey as you have in arriving at the destination? I hope so – life is all about the journey after all…
Now that you have arrived at your desired destination, it is time for you to reset your navigation system and set that next big, audacious goal that will take you on yet another exciting journey toward the fulfillment of all of your most “desired destinations”…
Where will you go next?
I hope this series has provided some useful guidelines toward helping you to manage your journey toward your ultimate destination. Please engage the discussion and let us know how you will travel toward your next personal goal. Always feel free to contact me atSheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for the next installment of Leadership Across Boundaries and Borders.
Posted in Development, Goal Setting, Leadership, Personal Goal Setting, Planning, Potential, Strategy, Value Creation, Winning | Tagged Change Management, Execution, Goal Setting, Leadership, winning results | Leave a Comment »
December 19, 2011
Our goals can only be reached through the vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.
~ Stephen A. Brennan
So, now you have committed to your goals, but how will you ensure continued forward motion toward your desired destination? The sad fact is that in spite of so much information being readily available on personal goal setting, in spite of this skill even being taught in some schools… most people do not – will not – decide exactly what they want out of life… ever! Personal goal setting is one of the most useful and satisfying activities a person can engage in, yet it something most people just will not typically do.
How can you score points if you don’t know where the goal is? Chances are, if you don’t know where you’re going… you end up somewhere you never intended to be. How can you arrive at your desired destination without a reliable road map? Action without planning, is just activity… busyness… an unproductive waste of energy and time. Personal goal setting is like fuel injection for your mind. When SMART goals are properly incorporated within the context of your personal journey, they will produce effective, self-perpetuating action.
In order to have the best chance at successfully achieving your goals, here are some tips that will help you to stay on track and moving in the right direction:
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Posted in Destinations, Development, Goal Setting, Planning, Potential, Strategy, Value Creation | Tagged alignment, Execution, Goal Setting, Strategic Planning, winning results | Leave a Comment »
November 20, 2011
The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable…
~Denis Waitley
Have you ever stopped to think about what you want your life to mean? What it is you really want to accomplish? Have you thought about what you want to be doing in ten years… or even five years’ time? Are you clear about what your main objective is at the moment? How does it contribute to your vision for your life? Do you even know what you want to achieve by the end of today?
Many people lose sight of what is important to them and fail to keep a direct line of sight to the why of what they do. It’s easy to lose sight of. From experience, I would say that most people do a whole lot in a day (a month…a year) that adds very little value to their overall life, however they just get lost in the demands of the moment…
By setting aligned goals that are based upon managed timelines, you can add purpose and direction to your life, while at the same time understanding and focusing on the overall why of what you do from day to day… and year to year.
Here is a basic process:
Setting Lifetime Goals
The first step in setting personal goals is to consider what you want to achieve in your lifetime (or at least, by a significant and distant age in the future). Setting lifetime goals gives you an overall perspective that shapes all other aspects of your life, and hence, your decision-making process.
To provide a multi-lane highway for you to travel through life on, it is important to bring broad, balanced coverage to all-important areas in your life. Establish goals in some of the following categories that may be important to you:
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Posted in alignment, Destinations, Development, Goal Setting, Innovation, Leadership, Milestones, Planning, Potential, Strategy, Value Creation | Tagged alignment, Execution, Goal Setting, Potential, Strategic Planning | Leave a Comment »
November 10, 2011
If you want to succeed, you need to set goals. Without goals, you lack focus and direction. Goal setting not only allows you to take control of your life’s direction; it also provides a benchmark to determine if you are actually succeeding. After all, having money in the bank is only proof of success if your goal is to create wealth and all that comes with it. However, if your real goal is make a difference in this world, the money may only be a milestone on the way to your final destination – or may not play into your life goals at all.
As mentioned earlier in the week, goal setting is a process. While it is both necessary and critical to set SMART goals, it is particularly useless if you cannot operationalize the process and incorporate it into something you will leverage for your own success. Having established the meaning and specifics behind SMART goals, let’s look at a way to operationalize the process:
1. Take the most efficient route: State each goal in one sentence – make it SMART.
The single sentence guideline forces you to be focused – stating clearly and plainly what you intend to accomplish. This clarity, right at the beginning of the goal setting process, makes it incredibly powerful. It also makes it straight-forward to check that you are meeting ALL SMART criteria within the context of the guideline.
2. Appreciate the journey: Understand WHY you have chosen specific goals
Goals, as important as they are, need to have a deeper why or they are not sustainable. There must be an engine that drives them – a commitment to something that matters. Failure to address this challenge will almost certainly result in lack of motivation and failure to attain the milestones necessary to achieve your goals. Answer this question thoroughly in your own mind and you will be motivated to follow the route to your ultimate destination.
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Posted in alignment, Destinations, Development, Education, Establishing Your Route, Goal Setting, Leadership, Planning, Potential, Strategic Planning, Value Creation | Tagged alignment, Execution, Goal Setting, Leadership, Potential, winning results | Leave a Comment »
May 23, 2011
Control Cataracts is a disorder that occurs in a leader’s vision. It happens when someone becomes desperate to maintain control at the expense of the group or the organization. He or she becomes reluctant to share any measure of authority for fear of losing control. This results in a blindness to the value that could be added by those around them, as well as a short-sightedness as to what success really is.
Leadership is about influence – not control. I am not the only person to make this observation, but it is worth repeating. If leadership involves control, it is only over setting an organization’s course and priorities. Those companies increasing in value the most are those with leaders that have a clear vision, continually communicate that vision, and then get out of the way and let their people do what they are paid to do. Trust is one of the most valuable things you can give to both individuals and teams. It is important to keep in mind that often our people can do things just as well, or in some cases, better than we do.
Your role as a leader is to bring people to a higher level of effectiveness, whatever the goal might be. A team is only as effective as its weakest link. If you have the unfortunate disorder of Control Cataracts within your organization and fail to eradicate it, you make your organization weak because over time self-confidence wanes and self-esteem diminishes across the board.
Even the best leaders, however, sometimes fall into the trap of involving themselves in minute details where they would do better to leave well enough alone. When leaders succumb to Control Cataracts, they are very likely to fail. Even good leaders need reminding of that. Delegate responsibilities and let those responsible for the tasks be accountable for getting them done.
Micromanagers prevent employees from making – and taking responsibility for – their own decisions. But it’s precisely the process of making decisions, and living with the consequences of those decisions, that allows people to grow and improve. Effective leaders empower employees to do well by providing opportunities to excel; Less effective leaders disempower their employees by hoarding opportunities. And because a disempowered employee is an ineffective employee he or she will require a lot of time and energy. It’s that time and energy, multiplied across an organization of timid, intimidated employees that amounts to a serious and self-defeating drain on a leader’s time.
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Posted in Communication, Control Cataracts, Danger Series, Development, Education, Global, Global Leadership, Innovation, Leadership, Leveraging Leaders, Potential, Resources, Team Building, Value Creation | Tagged challenge, Change Management, communication, competitive advantage, Execution, global organizations, influence, Leadership, Potential, results, winning results | 1 Comment »
March 30, 2011
Last week we looked at some common myths surrounding change management that have the potential to derail the change effort. Organizational change often reminds me of the movie Jumanji that involves a supernatural boardgame that brings its jungle world to life and puts the actual players in jeopardy of being maimed, or perhaps worse yet, caught in the drama forever. Sound familiar? It’s a jungle out there, and if you want to avoid drama that could maim your change effort, not only do you need to dispel myths (last weeks post), but you also need to put solid game rules in place that will keep everyone on the same game board. Here are some suggestions to foster effective change:
1. Acknowledge The 300 Pound Gorilla In The Room
Don’t try and institute change covertly
- silence, denial and mislabeling always make the situation worse. Call the gorilla, well… a gorilla – let your people know that there are uncomfortable changes taking place. Demonstrate your commitment by asking your opinion leaders for their ideas as to how to go about the change… and actually implement the best contributions. If you want your people to embrace change, they must have a chance to voice concerns and offer input. Effective change management includes listening carefully to concerns and fears – perceived, imagined, or legitimate – that could become barriers. Open communication provides valuable insight, letting you lay the foundations for effective change.
2. Provide Clear, Concise Communications
Even the most dedicated employees want to know how change will affect them personally. It is critical to provide clear and accurate information to the furthest extent possible. Whether they say it or not, people will naturally question:
- How the change will affect them
- What they will need to do differently
- If they will need additional skills to be successful… if so, how will they learn them?
- How they will know if the change is good for them
- If the change will affect their position. Will they be moved or eliminated?
Communicate openly. People can more easily accept change if they know what to expect. Managing expectations is tricky, but it’s vital to success. Make the case for change - provide a clear and convincing rationale for the change and support it with sound evidence. Let those affected know about the proposed change in advance. Advise everyone of the honest implications for individuals, teams, functions, and organizations.
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Posted in Communication, Cross-cultural, Development, Global Leadership, Leadership, Planning, Resources, Strategic Planning, Team Building, The Challenge of Change, Value Creation | Tagged challenge, Change Management, communication, Execution, Global Leadership, Leadership, organizational insight, results, Strategic Planning, success, transformational management, winning results | 2 Comments »
March 22, 2011
It is inevitable – change creates drama in most organizations. However, you have a choice as to whether you deal with change effectively or let it spiral out of control - controlling you and creating unnecessary drama! Leaders need to be able to present a unified vision and convey support if they expect their people to embrace change. Indifference can lead to a rapid demise of the change effort. As a leader invoking change, make sure you provide:
- A vision for how the change will impact the individual, team, division and organization
- A firm commitment to change goals, while accepting input on the details
- Specific, achievable objectives along with plans for achieving them
- A roadmap for success with realistic timelines, budgets, and owners
- A communication framework to support change adoption
- Opportunities for people to give feedback during and after the change
Admittedly, organizational change is complex, but we often make it harder on ourselves than it has to be. Just as in the board game Clue, it is easy to engage in false assumptions that can lead our people down the path of suspicion and drama – away from the truth and the ultimate win. The result? A whole lot of ambiguous thinking regarding the application of structured, human-focused, change within the organization.
Here are just a few examples of how we can easily fall victim to false assumptions over our own realities:
People Resist Change: Actually, not always. People frequently seek out drastic changes in their lives and voluntarily embrace them. People do, however, resist being forced to change.
How change is presented and managed will impact its success or failure far more than the change itself. Most of us respond far better to change when we comprehend a valid reason for it – without solid justification, most people are likely to resist anyone who tries to force change upon them… and cause drama along the way.
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Posted in alignment, Change, Communication, Global Leadership, Leadership, Part 1, Potential, Save The Drama Series, Strategic Planning, Strategy, Team Building, Uncategorized, Value Creation | Tagged Change, Change Management, complexity, Execution, global alignment, Global Leadership, influence, Leadership, Potential, results, Strategic Planning, success, synergy, transformational management, Unity of Purpose, winning results | Leave a Comment »
February 17, 2011
We have all experienced workplace drama in one form or another. It can be unpleasant, irritating, and disruptive - often preventing organizations from effectively meeting their goals. As a leader, you are responsible for maintaining a productive, drama-free workplace. You rely on people to do their jobs in such a way that results are successfully achieved. Because you work with people to get things done, you are likely to experience drama in the workplace. It can sometimes feel like an experience similar to the television show “The Nanny” – the kids (your organization) are spoiled and/or unruly, and you are the Nanny – responsible for teaching the foundational skills that lead to organizational success. However, in the workplace (just as with dysfunctional families) the gossip, complaining, and backstabbing leads to full blown negativity that will result in increased turnover and absenteeism. How you manage drama within your organization may determine your ultimate outcomes.
It may feel personal at times, but as the “Nanny”, it is your job to get the children back in line, ensuring they learn and engage in appropriate behaviors that will create positive results for the organization. For the next few weeks, we will explore several ideas – hopefully providing you, the leader, with a toolbox to ensure that you are in a position to eliminate (or at least drastically reduce) drama in the workplace. If you successfully manage the drama, you are much more likely to see the positive results you desire.
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Posted in Communication, Development, Global Leadership, Leadership, Save The Drama For Your Momma Series, Save The Drama Series, Strategy, Team Building, Value Creation | Tagged challenge, communication, Execution, Global Leadership, Global teams, Leadership, organizational insight, Organizational Politics, results, success, transformational management, Unity of Purpose, winning results | 2 Comments »
February 10, 2011
This post is about you - as an organizational leader. Lifelong learning is a critical component of our personal and professional growth that we often seem to forget as we rise through the ranks. Unfortunately, as most of us become more senior within the organization, there is an undeniable challenge we face – facilitating our own ongoing growth and development. It becomes more and more difficult to identify growth opportunities, training, relevant readings, etc. and to deny the pull to remain stagnant – focusing on what we already know vs. the potential we have to know more. Perhaps most importantly, there is often a stealth sense of false complacency that emerges as a result of past success. However, the reality is that with the frequency and scale of change in global organizations, the leader that is not continually growing and changing with the environment may very well find that s/he has been left behind at the last jumping off point.
Ultimately, you are responsible for your own personal development…and reaching your potential. Many leaders let the business take priority over reaching their potential, or wait for the company to assume ownership of their development. Is this really what is most beneficial for you, and by default, the organizaion? As leaders, it is easy to forget that it is far more effective to stretch ourselves, and thereby our organizations, than it is to settle for the status quo. But how do you continually push yourself to think harder and go further? You can employ any number of self-help philosophies, but the reality is that you will probably not follow through – and if you do, they will typically not generate the results you hoped they would.
Finding and engaging a good mentor may be a critical success factor you are missing. Mentoring is a process about enabling and supporting your personal and professional growth. Organizational life can sometimes feel like climbing up the side of a mountain – as we struggle up the steep parts we are breathless, challenged, single-minded, and in need of support and sustenance. There may even be some moves we can not make without being tied to a partner. Mentoring can help with your changes in altitude, and enable you to get to higher ground – where you just may be able to see things from a different perspective. You will be able to see the mountains in the distance and new ways forward that were just not visible from your position below. Your mentor should facilitate a process that leads you to consider different perspectives, new ways of thinking, and deeper self-knowledge.
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Posted in Are You Reaching For It?, Development, Education, Global, Leadership, Mentoring, Potential, Resources, Strategic Planning, Value Creation | Tagged challenge, communication, Execution, Extreme Global Leader, innovation, inspiration, intellectual acumen, Lead Creatively, Leadership, Mentor, mentoring, Organizational Politics, Potential, results, success, transformational management, winning results | Leave a Comment »
November 18, 2010
Do you fully understand the impact the financial crisis has on your company, your division, your teams…your people? How do you make a conscious effort to sustain your company through the crisis?How often do you lead by financial measures other than budget? The reality of the situation is this – if you are a leader in any capacity, you should be thinking about how the global financial crisis is affecting your domain and what you are going to do to contribute to your own sustainability.
The responsibility to keep the organization (and your livelihood) afloat is not for the CEO and CFO alone. While they are the structural and functional center in the midst of the contracting economic environment, every single leader has an important role to play. From Customer Service to the Board of Directors, everyone should be actively contributing to the future of the company – in good times and bad. We typically don’t think that way, however, it is critical to understand how the efforts of each and every function must align and coordinate in such a way that the entire fleet is headed in one direction. If we are to emerge from this crisis better, faster, and stronger…we had better begin to navigate our way more effectively in these turbulent economic seas.
This week, let’s consider a few high level thoughts for keeping your Operations afloat in rough seas:
1) Command Your Crew. People are essentially the engine of production in service and manufacturing and the principle of managing for cash flow remains at the forefront of what you, as the Captain, need to command. People are the key to your success, and one critical aspect pertains to how you are leveraging your resources. Obviously an idle staff is an unproductive staff – constantly re-evaluate and staff operations in line with the operational needs. In addition, remember that your crew is made up of humans and times are tough – ensure your people feel they are treated equitably while also ensuring rewards and recognition are available for those who go above and beyond – they don’t have to be cash related…
2) Lower your cash breakeven point ahead of falling revenues – fast. How will you consolidate production and how will your choices affect cash flow and other priorities? Will a software investment make your system more responsive and efficient? Is subcontracting a part of the process an option to better managing costs? Whatever you decide, know and understand that any decision you make may have far reaching consequences on the entire system – make sure you consider the full impact of any changes and get input from all affected parties.
3) Rethink your capital investments. As you continue your quest for cash, it may seem obvious to postpone or cancel capital expenditures. This should be evaluated carefully…remember that depreciation alone will allow you some expenditures without any real cost. While it may be tempting to abandon ship on spending, always keep in mind that what you delay today, may cost you more tomorrow…stringently evaluate every expenditure, carefully weighing both benefits and costs equally. Projects with high strategic value shouldn’t be delayed. Most competitors choose cost savings over strategic investments when they come upon turbulent waters – if you choose investments wisely, the winds will be with you as we emerge from the storm of economic crisis. Knowing where to spend and where to cut is a skill that will test your aptitude for navigation, not only as the Captain of your ship, but also in regards to your capacity to rule the seas in an ocean full of pirates – once the seas have calmed.
4) Manage your product lines. Be merciless in evaluating which product lines with their multitude of versions and extensions should walk the plank. The unnecessary complexity of multiple, complex product lines could sink your ship – weighing it down with additional cash expenditures that will not allow your vessel to stay afloat. Remember the 5:50 rule: 5% of your inventory will derive 50% of your revenue.
5) Consider Outsourcing – and Insourcing. Lighten your load wherever possible – you will be more flexible to navigate in rough seas. Carefully review operations, focusing on what differentiates you from the competition – that is your bottom-line value. Everything else should be considered fair-game for outsourcing – especially those aspects of the business that may create economies of scale that are not possible in-house. A viable alternative may be insourcing – keeping redundant employees onboard to reduce or eliminate the current cost of outsourcing. It may be advantageous to drop anchor on outside contractors and let your existing crew take up the load. Weigh your options carefully, and evaluate the impact on your overall cash flow to see where you come out ahead…
6) Manage Inventory. It is critically important that you are aware of the financial implications that inventory brings – both raw materials and finished products are cash traps. Tie yourself tightly to sales and marketing to ensure that cash remains the focus at all times and base your manufacturing processes on just-in-time, produce-on-demand, or some variance of these practices to ensure that all aspects of inventory at maintained at minimal levels.
Whether you are in a manufacturing, retail, or a service environment the above points will apply – what will change is the lens from which you are viewing them. Just the same, they should all be considered and evaluated as to how they can be applied on your ship – otherwise, you may find yourself thrown overboard in stormy, shark infested seas, treading water and hoping for a rescue that may not arrive in time.
Please engage the discussion and let us know how you keep operations afloat in rough seas. Please feel free to contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for the next post on Leadership Across Boundaries and Borders.
Posted in alignment, Cash Management, Financial, Global, Into The Deep Series, Leadership, Lighten The Load, Lighten The Load, Planning, Strategy, Value Creation | Tagged alignment, Cash Management, challenge, competitive advantage, complexity, Execution, Financial, Global Leadership, Potential, results, Strategic Planning | 1 Comment »
