“Just tell us what to do.”
I am usually a fan of co-created decisions and strategies. But these days, I’m not so sure. I’ve already told you I’m a collaborative strategist who doesn’t enjoy group work. Now I’m becoming a collaborative strategist who’s advocating a less collaborative approach to strategy making. What is going on here?! Continue reading “The Gift of Less Collaboration”
Strategizing in a time of uncertainty is difficult, partly because we often think planning requires some measure of ability to predict what will happen in the future, and right now our crystal ball is very much broken.
I would suggest that while staying aligned with an unpredictable context makes strategic planning challenging, the process is less about clairvoyance and more about conviction.
And here’s where things get tricky right now. Continue reading “Sightlines Under Stress”
A ten-year study of how Italy’s 15 largest cities weathered the global financial crisis of the late 2000s found that organizations’ decision-making styles before the collapse largely matched their styles during and after the crisis. Those that did formal strategic planning continued to do so. Those that used an incremental, ad hoc planning approach did so before and after. Those whose approach was described as “inertia” before fell into that same category after.*
Plus ça change…. Continue reading “Show up how you want to end up”
I hesitate even to write the word “unprecedented.” But these times really are. We’ve been radically disrupted and shaken to our core. And the ride isn’t over yet.
Is it even possible to think about planning at a time like this, when our previous plans seem irrelevant and our ability to predict the future with any certainty seems non-existent? Not to mention the fact that we are busy, distracted and exhausted? Continue reading “Can we plan at a time like this?”
It’s local election time where I live. I received two tools to help voters decide which candidate to support; this municipal election kit from our local Poverty Elimination Task Force and this app developed to help Toronto voters identify the candidate whose perspectives most closely align with their own. Solid information that’s easy to access — I love it.
Both resources reminded me how much easier it is to make insightful decisions quickly when you have well-curated information at your fingertips.
Continue reading “Curated Information at your Fingertips”
