Quotes # 6

"You can buy a person's hands but you can't buy his heart. His heart is where his enthusiasm, his loyalty is."

Stephen Covey

"Sailing in stormy waters......."

Is it wise, in turbulent times and framed by an uncertain economic environment to avoid risk taking and implement changes in a business Organization?
Some “bean counters “out there, believe that, by avoiding risk, organizations can “beat” their lesser wise competitors. That by playing on the safer side, they can avoid making “extra” investments and implement needed changes to their organizations'. But in today's global marketplace, playing it safe and avoiding change is probably the riskiest strategy of all. What do You think?

Checkers or Chess ?

How to tell a good manager from a bad manager? According to Marcus Buckingham ( management consultant and author of books such as; First, Break All The Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently and The One Thing You Need to Know...About Great Managing, Great Leading and Sustained Individual Success), there is a simple answer : Bad managers play checkers. Good managers play chess. The good manager knows that not all employees work the same way. They know if they are to achieve success, they must put their employees in a position where they will be able to use their strengths. "Great managers know they don't have 10 salespeople working for them. They know they have 10 individuals working for them .... A great manager is brilliant at spotting the unique differences that separate each person and then capitalizing on them."
This may sound elementary, but, according to Buckingham, “ a quick glance around the business world indicates that many companies have yet to grasp this simple concept of putting people's strengths to use,” meaning that the business world -- and the world at large -- is obsessed with weaknesses and finding ways to fix them.

The vital question here is ; where do I get the most benefits with the least effort, or to put it in business language how do I get the most return out of my investment , is it by working on strengths or mitigate weaknesses ?
According to Buckingham, the best managers share one talent -- the ability to find, and then capitalize upon, their employees' unique traits. "The guiding principle is, 'How can I take this person's talent and turn it into performance?' That's the only way success is possible." And yet not everyone has that knack, Buckingham states: “Truly inspiring business leaders, are rarer than many think “.

Quotes # 5

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”

John F. Kennedy, speech prepared for delivery in Dallas the day of his assassination, November 22, 1963

Strategy? Planning?Thinking? Long term ?

I see a major difference between conventional long term planning and Strategic planning as the first one is build on projection and extrapolation of data and experiences from the past, while Strategic planning builds on anticipated future trends and competitive assumptions. Conventional long term planning tends to be numbers driven, while on other hand Strategic planning is focusing on providing a clear organizational vision and is more qualitative rather than quantitative.

I am always ready to learn, but I do not always like being taught. "Sir Winston Churchill "

Quotes # 4

"Thoughts are the seed of action."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)

What are the key elements of a strategic plan? (Part 2)

What is strategy after all? If You search for the term in google you will find 456.000.000 results.
In my opiniom one of the most comprehensive definition is the one provided by Arnoldo C. Hax and Nicolas S. Majluf :
"determines and reveals the organizational purpose in terms of long-term objectives, action programs, and resource allocation priorities;
selects the businesses the organization is in, or is to be in;
attempts to achieve a long-term sustainable advantage in each of its businesses by responding appropriately to the opportunities and threats in the firm's environment, and the strengths and weaknesses of the organization;
identifies the distinct managerial tasks at the corporate, business, and functional levels;
is a coherent, unifying, and integrative pattern of decisions;
defines the nature of the economic and non-economic contributions it intends to make to its stakeholders;
is an expression of the strategic intent of the organization;
is aimed at developing and nurturing the core competencies of the firm;
is a means for investing selectively in tangible and intangible resources to develop the capabilities that assure a sustainable competitive advantage."

What are the key elements of a strategic plan? (Part 1)

What happens if a manager wants to see beyond how his business is performing today?

Measures like; revenue, profitability, market share and customer satisfaction are only a Photograph of the actual position that company is in.
But those measures can not point us the path to the future, in a constantly changing business environment, the above measures only tell us how well / bad the business has performed in the past.
To overcome this situation creative leaders should focus on more than just documentation driven strategic planning, this process should be much more based on one to one conversations, listening to others opinions, be more motivational for everybody involved in the process, seeking voluntary commitment, it should contain strong creative elements instead of being just analysis driven, focusing on the big picture than rather on details.
Strategic planning should be mainly about setting a direction rather than segmenting and budgeting, it should be aligning and inspiring people rather than organizing and staffing.

Quotes # 3

I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.
Groucho Marx

Participation ( Part 1 )

An effective business strategy development, is a creative team process, that depends on a very high level of collaboration and participation among members throughout a business organization. The team responsible for implementing changes in their business unit should be involved in shaping and deciding the strategy from scratch.
To make the most of the workflow of expertise and ideas that other colleagues in their organizations possess, creative leaders need to stop from presenting their solution to a problem before others have had an opportunity to offer their own insights and thoughts.
Leaders must understand that the best options mean very little if different parts of the organization are not willing to cooperate to execute the decision.

Quotes # 2

"Coaching is unlocking a person's potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them..." -- Timothy Gallwey,

Leading versus Managing ( Part 4)

A leader inspires his followers by appealing to their common sense rather than resting on his formal authority.
A leader fosters hope rather than fear;
A leader says “we” rather than “I”;
He does "it" instead of talking about "it ";
A leader do not need to ask for respect, Followers willingly respect him.

What drives employees ? ( Part 1 )

J.W. Atkinson: “achievement is 50% ability and 50% drive”

To a certain degree each person has specific needs, drives and ambitions.
Once satisfied basic needs according to Maslow´s pyramid, there are some “extra” needs that enables employees to be ready to contribute above and beyond their call of duty.
Most of these needs , as well as aspirations and expectations are unexpressed and here is where a creative leader has to develop some kind of a detecting mechanism that enables him to better recognize and understand these “ extra wishes “.and aim to respond at them as we do in regards to satisfying our customers needs.
A first step could be not to brand people under a generic category of “employee”, but to treat them as human partners.
We must recon them as human beings with individual needs, drives, characteristics and aspirations.
Changing habits involves both knowing how (learning) and wanting to (motivation). It is important to see that learning is different from performing.
In terms of how far we get in life--how much we accomplish--motivation may be just as important if not more important than learning. A common barrier to accomplishing many goals in life is not wanting the goal enough to give it the necessary try, therefore it is vital to coach our “human” business partners by giving the necessary confidence boost providing them with sufficient quality time, energy attention, help advice, mentoring and support.

Farewell, Peter Drucker: A Tribute to a great visionary

"With the passing of Peter Drucker, the world has lost one of its intellectual giants," says Yoram (Jerry ) Wind , director of the SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management at Wharton.


"Management is so much more than exercising rank and privilege, it's so much more than 'making deals.' Management affects people and their lives, both in business and many other aspects as well. The practice of management deserves our utmost attention; it deserves to be studied."
Peter Drucker

This book brings competitive advantage under a new light.

Quotes # 1

Building a deep capacity for strategy innovation requires a company to imbue its employees with new passions, as well as new skills. It requires a never-ending effort to engage and capture the imagination of every single individual. It requires that top management surrender its monopoly on setting strategic direction. It requires a relentless quest to bring profoundly new benefits to customers. It requires allegiance to new financial measures that focus attention on the challenge of creating new wealth. It requires a relentless search for new business concepts. It requires the total absence of nostalgia for old business concepts. It requires a relentless attack on anything that inhibits innovation. It requires that companies encourage and celebrate activism at all levels. It requires companies to create vibrant internal markets for innovation, capital and talent. “Gary Hamel”

Leading versus Managing ( Part 3)

The vital issue when analysing the key differentiating points between leadership and management is the theory that employees willingly follow leaders because they want to, not because they have to.
A leader may not have the formal authority to reward good or to penalize poor performance , but followers provide leaders with real power by attending their requests.
Managers on the opposite side, may have to use their formal authority to get their reports to perform accordingly.
In modern companies the persons who are the key driver achieve authority through, and only through, their success.

Leading versus Managing ( Part 2)

Managers have to deal with complexity, they handle it, by bringing order into a situation and predicting its outcome. But, to succeed in times of uncertainty and turbulence, those tasks are no longer enough. Nowadays companies are desperately trying to adapt themselves to a rapidly and constantly changing business environment. To achieve this, managers have to learn how to manage change, or, how Professor John F. Kotter, Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School expressed; they have to lead change.
The question that managers facing change have to ask is:
What do I need most “ to develop more Leadership or more Managing skills ?
What are the crucial distinctive elements on both definitions?
1. Management involves planning and budgeting. Leadership involves setting a direction.
2. Management involves organizing and staffing. Leadership involves aligning and inspiring people.
3. Management provides control and problem solving skills. Leadership drives motivation.
The challenge is to know when to be a leader and when to be a manager,
Both skill sets—management and leadership—are needed to achieve organizational goals. Managers typically take care of the inner-workings of the business. They design systems, create rules and procedures and oversee daily operations.
Leading involves motivating and inspiring people, both directly or indirectly. Leaders are often seen as collaborative, visionary and tuned with the needs of their staff. Leaders have a high level of personal involvement in a company or project. They are able to set the tone with their behavior and attitude (leading by example) and influence decisions (credibility and power).
Sometimes, however, we must wear both hats , the one of a leader and the one of a manager . "we may be in a leadership position, but we still need to manage every day if we want to stay profitable and keep a our stakeholders satisfied.

Leading versus Managing ( Part 1)

Strategic Leaders provide their followers with general guidelines, just as The Prussian Marshal Helmuth von Moltke (1800 - 1891) did , by promoting directives to his officers rather than commands .
Moltke wanted to foster entrepreneurship among his ranks by motivating Prussian officers to practice autonomous decision making .
Great entrepreneurs create a corporate culture in which their vision, core values and business strategies are lived by employees who think independently.
In an Harvard Business Review article, Hans Hinterhuber and Wolfgang Popp translate Moltke's example into business terms. According to Moltke, strategy should mean; applied common sense and is a skill that cannot be taught.
Both authors suggest that good entrepreneurs and managers—as Moltke did with his generals--are born with the qualities that make them successful.
But, potential is not everything, like top athletes, in order to become a champion one has to constantly and continuously work and develop this natural ability.
Hinterhuber and Popp have created a questionnaire that can help potential strategic leaders to measure their own strategic management competence.

Here are the questions that can guide you trough your introspectional process and, hopefully, provide food for thought.
1. Do you have an entrepreneurial vision for your company and your business unit/department within it?
2. Do you have a clear sense of the corporate philosophy and the role that you play in it?
3. Do you feel your product, service or brand offers your customer a unique competitive advantage ?
4. Do the people who report to you use their ability to act independently in the company's best interest, without too much micromanaging on your part?
5. Does the department/business unit you manage reflect your own vision?
6. Do you involve your direct reports/followers in strategic planning?
7. Are the core values in your department/business unit compatible with these strategies?
8. Do you monitor the external competition closely and try to learn new things from them?
9. Do you feel that your success has been due to hard work rather than luck?
10. Are you trying to leave the world a better place than how you found it?