Do it anyway. You know that things need to change in your organization. You are either wasting money or opportunities. Or you keep doing the same things over and over again while people expect a different result (Definition of Insanity attributed to Einstein). Something has to change! But the timing is not right. Either you don’t have the right big boss or if you are the … [Read more...] about The Timing is Never Right to Lead Change
Do We Have the Correct Strategy?
There is no “factual” way to know the answer to this question. And it drives a lot of people mad. But strategy is not a math question with right or wrong answers. You “create” a strategy based on your aspirations and, yes, some hearty analysis of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. But there is no way to tell if you have created the “correct” … [Read more...] about Do We Have the Correct Strategy?
Risk vs. Irrelevance
Making Strategic Choices is risky. Often when I give strategy examples to clients or executives I am teaching I will hear the comment “That sounds risky.” This response does not consider the risk of continuing to do things the same way. In his books and teaching, Dr. Russ Ackoff would often make the distinction between errors of “commission” – doing something that should … [Read more...] about Risk vs. Irrelevance
Maximizing Personal Energy
Recently, I was on a panel at a conference for 250+ nonprofit executives when I suggested that in order to effectively address today’s challenges they need to lead with a sense of urgency because that is what it takes to accomplish important changes required today in the sector. But it’s not going to happen overnight. So they also need to lead as if they are running … [Read more...] about Maximizing Personal Energy
Leading Innovation
We know that leading innovation is key for any organization which wants to thrive – or even survive. In fact, not so long ago a Nonprofit CEO was quoted in The Chronicle of Philanthropy that we are now in an environment where it is “innovate or die.” But how do executives go about leading innovation? In the June 2014 issue of Harvard Business Review, Harvard leadership … [Read more...] about Leading Innovation