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Archive for the ‘individual strategy’ Category
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
 The Decorator Crab is found in various parts of the ocean, and has a lot to teach us about the way the workplace can affect performance. As all living things have predators of sorts, the Decorator Crab survives and avoids its predators by camouflaging or blending into its environment. This crab will collect items found in its habitat, such as corals, anemones, sponges, and various algae, and attach them to their shell using a hook appendage. Their collection will eventually grow attached and permanently change the look of the crab. When I began thinking about how this species relates to the workplace, I had two totally separate insights that I think are valuable lessons. As such, this blog will be presented in Part One: Finding a Positive Work Environment, and Part Two: Standing Out at Work.
Part Two: Standing Out at Work
There are employees in the work environment who, like this crab, act in a survival mode. They are worried about being laid-off or given extra assignments and responsibilities, and don’t want to challenge the status quo. They too, try to blend in and act in fear of change or challenge. I’m sure you can think of someone just like this right now! The downside of this scenario is they are quickly passed up when opportunities arise. Literally, the chances float right by! What every work environment, and organization for that matter, needs is people who are willing to stick it out through hard times, get noticed, and take risks. While the Decorator Crab can only win from blending in, we can only lose.
Tags: being the best, how to keep my job, positive employee qualities, standing out at work
Posted in accountability, character, continuous improvement, individual strategy, performance | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
There is a type of caterpillar called a processionary caterpillar, so named because one will establish a direction and all the others will fall in very closely behind and move in the same path. As a matter of fact, the followers’ behaviors becomes so automatic that their eyes become half-closed as they shut out the world around them and let the leader do all the thinking and decision making about which direction to pursue. Their behavior is rote and automatic.
 An experiment by the French naturalist Jean-Henri Fabre demonstrated the rigidity of the processionary caterpillars’ behavior when he enticed the leader to start circling the edge of the large flower pot. The other caterpillars followed suit in a tight process, forming a closed circle in which the distinctions between leader and follower became totally blurred, and the path had no beginning and no ending. Instead of soon getting bored with the nonproductive activity, the caterpillars kept up their mindless search for several days and nights until they dropped off the edge of the flowerpot from exhaustion and starvation. Relying totally on instinct, past experience, custom, and tradition, the caterpillars achieve nothing because they mistook activity for achievement.
I believe that employees can fall into the trap of blindly following their leader easily. Innovation and creativity, risk taking, and strategy is lost when they act like a drone rather than an individual leader of themselves and an example to others. While the business may not suffer if an individual contributor’s behaviors are automatic and without direction, the business may see drastic performance improvement if they have their “eyes wide open.”
If you find your employees are “circling the pot,” here are a few helpful tips for leaders to increase their motivation and hold them accountable for higher performance.
- Delegate assignments that are especially interesting to an employee and empower them to take the lead and own the assignment.
- Recognize and reward good displays of individual leadership (innovation and creativity, risk taking, strategy).
- Teach team members about being accountable. Help them understand what it means to be accountable and the power and freedom that comes from doing your best.
- When a team member fails to act as an individual leader, debrief the experience and discuss better behaviors, attitudes, and actions for future situations.
- Talk openly about the importance of fulfilling responsibilities, as well as exceeding expectations.
Tags: individual business strategy, individual leadership, Leadership Communication, planning for the future, strategic leadership, thinking differenly than co-workers
Posted in Uncategorized, individual strategy, organizational change | No Comments »
Monday, May 25th, 2009
“If only I had enough time to… (fill in your own blank)”. How many times have you heard someone say those words in the last week? How many times have you thought those words in the last two days? I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone who has enough time to do all of the things they should do, let alone include the things they would like to do. Nor have I ever met anyone who claimed to have too much time. And the reality is each of us has all the time there is… exactly 168 hours a week, no more no less. So then, why is it that some people find a way to get so much more done than others in the same amount of time? Or, why is it that some people are so terribly busy, they’re running here and running there but rarely get anything of significance accomplished? I have a theory and I would love to share it with you.
 I’ve come to the conclusion, that for most of us, time management is not the problem. There is little doubt that each of us couldn’t get better in some aspect of time management. I’ve taught time management classes for more than 20 years. And while far from perfect, time management is not my biggest challenge either. So what is the biggest challenge to getting more done and creating more value where it matters most? I believe the answer is a lack of well thought out and clearly defined “strategic targets” which will have a significant impact on your future. Let me explain.
A “strategic target” represents an innovative, strategic idea or initiative you want to pursue. It describes where you want to be or what you want to accomplish at some point in the future. These targets could be personal or professional; they could be linked to your family life or relationships, your career or some aspect of your current job. A target could be as simple as “What are the expected outcomes of a meeting you’re facilitating this afternoon?”, or as complex as “What will the organization look like after the merger?”
Without specific targets to focus our limited time and energy, we spend a lot of time spinning our wheels on things of little strategic value, things that keep us running in frantic, meaningless circles. We’re very busy trying to do everything for everyone, and in the process, getting very little done that really matters or adds value to our lives or the lives of others. It is ironic that very few of us would get in our cars and drive frantically without a clear destination in mind. And yet, most of us have a tendency to go through our projects, jobs, careers and lives in just such a fashion… no clear destination or target in mind. No wonder we find ourselves so tired and so stressed out and yet no farther down our desired path.
Time management is not the problem… a lack of strategic targets is. What targets, if obtained, would make a difference in your life? Where are you going today? Do you know?
Tags: Applied Strategic Thinking, strategic targets, Strategic Thinking, Strategic Time Management, time management
Posted in individual strategy, planning, time management | No Comments »
Monday, May 18th, 2009
Upon meeting new people, one of the first questions I am asked is often, “Where do you work?” or “What do you do?” This was the case a few nights ago, after being introduced to a colleague of a friend. When I explained that I work for CMOE, which provide leadership and employee development training, he asked me to tell him more about it. I gave a brief list of our services and explained that one of our most popular workshops is on strategic thinking. He said he took a class on strategic management, but it didn’t apply to him because he wasn’t an executive. I explained to him that strategic thinking is not the same as strategic management.
Strategic Management
Let’s look at Strategic Management in general terms. Wikipedia explains, “Strategy is the art, science and craft of formulating, implementing and evaluating cross-functional decisions that will enable an organization to achieve its long-term objectives. It is the process of specifying the organization’s mission, vision and objectives, developing policies and plans. Strategic management seeks to coordinate and integrate the activities of the various functional areas of a business in order to achieve long-term organizational objectives.”
Applied Strategic Thinking
Applied Strategic Thinking is a way of scanning your environment, finding ways to perform more efficiently, being more innovative, and reacting to outside challenges and opportunities with more confidence because you have already considered variables.
 The Difference
Notice that the main difference between these definitions is the timing. Where strategic management is a long-term plan for the future, Applied Strategic Thinking considers the future from the next few seconds to however long the concept will be relevant. In other words, you can consider the best route around an accident or plan for your retirement and everything in between including your influence on the future of your organization.
The second difference is in the number of members. Strategic management usually takes a team to determine the direction of an organization. Strategic thinking is something everyone, as individuals, can do. So a strategic thinking janitor may discover that changing a product will be less expensive, more effective, or perhaps more environment friendly than the current product being purchased. Strategic thinking means an individual looks at his/her environment, evaluates it, and then asks, “What would happen if . . .?”
Tags: Applied Strategic Thinking, Strategic Management, strategic management experiences, Strategic People, Strategic Thinking
Posted in individual strategy, strategy | No Comments »
Monday, April 27th, 2009
I’m sure that many of you receive funny or “send to ten people in the next ten minutes or suffer the consequences” emails and videos from friends almost every day. If you are like me, very few are ever sent on. However, the other day I received a Newsweek Article, “Avoid Death” is named wackiest Label¸ that gave me a chuckle until I really thought about it.
 The Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch conducted its annual “Wacky Warning Label Contest” and this year’s winning label, Avoid Death, was found on a small tractor. It was implying that if you simply operate this tractor, there is a chance of death. Second place was on an iron-on T shirt transfer warning, “Do not iron while wearing t-shirt.” The honorable mention went to a label on a letter opener stating “Caution, safety goggles recommended.” I began to wonder if the world had lost its common sense, or become lawsuit greedy.
What person in their right mind would try to iron a shirt while wearing it? Well, the manufacturer of these t-shirt transfers seemed to think someone might or has. While I am appalled to think that the management of this company has to protect the company from lawsuits when a foolish individual burns his/her chest, I realize that even the odd and ridiculous can lead to change that is innovative, creative, and possibly necessary.
You would think that this of type threat (consumer response) would hamper creativity and innovation, but on the other hand, (not giving stupidity credit) it may actually be a catalyst. Dr. Stowell and Stephanie Mead explain in their book, Ahead of the Curve, that by paying attention to the head winds (things that may hamper success) and the tail winds (things that will aid success), a person or company can more effectively strategize and then streamline processes to address or capitalize on the future events.
As team members, we must continually look for those things on the horizon that will change our current thinking, no matter how insignificant. Dr. Stowell and Ms. Mead calls this “gathering intelligence and analyzing forces.”TM
Who knows . . .perhaps, that one person who just might iron themselves, will bring about an innovative or creative product that will resist wrinkles, burns, or images that stick to a T- Shirts without heat.
Tags: head winds, headwinds, individual strategy, lawsuits, tail winds, tailwinds
Posted in individual strategy | No Comments »
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