When you are leading in uncertainty or navigating a transition, it’s common to describe the experience as driving through fog. Jim Collins uses this metaphor in his recent book to describe the experience after people — even very accomplished people — live through a ‘cliff’ moment in their lives. The transition or crisis is usually followed by an extended period of fogginess.
Continue reading “Leaving you in their dust”Strategy Sightings, Episode One
I want strategy development to serve a much more useful purpose than crossing something off a leader’s to-do list.
So, I’ve set about looking for strategy “in the wild” — watching for how it’s being implemented in practical, helpful ways in real life.
At the risk of sounding partisan, I want to use Mark Carney, the newly elected Canadian Prime Minister, as my first example.
Continue reading “Strategy Sightings, Episode One”Craving Clarity
In the midst of a transitional time, fuzzy thinking is par for the course. We often feel disoriented or aimless, and our reliable anchor points just aren’t holding.
The clarity we crave during those times has three elements that can serve as access points when we need to see through the fog:
Continue reading “Craving Clarity”Personal and Organizational Bucket Lists
I pay attention to what sticks with me after an event is over. As I mentioned last week, I recently attended ICF’s Converge 2023 conference, and the core message from the session I attended on the final morning has resonated since: goal setting is often as motivational as goal achievement.
Continue reading “Personal and Organizational Bucket Lists”Clear is Kind
If you are a fan of 1970s music, you might know Nick Lowe’s 1979 hit, “Cruel to be Kind.”
Since I devoured Brene Brown’s new book, Dare to Lead, that song has taken up residence as an earworm for me, with a slight modification to the main lyrics: “You’ve gotta be clear to be kind, in the right measure…”