Five Tips in Creating Culture Change
Strategic Thinking for High School Leaders
Recently I have heard and seen television and radio shows discussing problems in educational institutions throughout the USA. They have been looking at issues that are generally nationwide made more evident by either successes or failures in specific institutions or districts, more often focused on failures or weak performance.
What business are you really in?
I learned from Robert Reeves, who was superintendent of the Poway School district in San Diego County, CA for many years, that this deceivingly simple question, once answered, can have a dramatically positive impact.
On the surface it's fairly easy to see how it can be important strategically, However, below the surface a rigorous exploration for the answer can help convert the culture of the district, and even of a whole community.
If you and your colleagues begin a journey down a path to define a more far-reaching outcome like this, you will most likely be delving into the deepest reaches of the culture of your organization. And if so, know that those are difficult waters to navigate.
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Should HR be Involved Early in the Planning Process?
Frequently when organizations work on their strategic plan,they forget to include Human Resources early in the process. Why is this?
Perhaps it's because HR is considered unimportant until it's time to implement the plan. The challenge with that is if they haven't been involved up front during the planning creation, there may be some critical issues that weren't addressed
early on that now need to be considered.
Another reason may be that HR people generally aren't or haven't been strategic thinkers. A friend and colleague, Timi Gleason, wrote a book about how to be a strategic thinker, called Coach as Strategic Partner: a Survival Guide for
Leaders and Their HR Business Partners.
In it she shares her personal stories of learning to be a strategic thinker in a Fortune 200 company when she was thrust into a position as the head of HR - with no background or training in that field.
Read more about this.
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Social Media Tips
Google+ Growing Fast
Google+, now 50 million users strong, could be a game changer in many ways. Since it went public last week, site traffic is up 1200%, not counting those who use it from their smart phones.
It's a new twist on social media, where you create circles of friends and acquaintances with whom you share different things. As in real life, we all have close and not so close friends. Some things we share only with a few people, while others we share broadly. Google+ lets you choose what to share with whom. From photos to videos to articles, links and games, almost anything is open for sharing.
Recently they introduced a tool called "Hangouts" where you spontaneously start a video chat with up to nine people. Rumor has it you can also do a live broadcast in Hangouts, and record the conversation for later use. It's limited to certain accounts right now, but that could change.
Imagine sending an instant message to a colleague in another location, finding them available, and connecting immediately to chat about a joint project. How might this improve productivity?
Instead of leaving voice mail messages or waiting for them to find your email in their inbox, you connect with them wherever they are and get the answers you need right away. Hmmmm,...seems pretty productive to me.
 For anyone needing help creating an immediate action plan to generate results.
When you don't have the time or staff to develop a comprehensive, detailed plan, this 60-minute exercise will help you get there.
Click here for more information.
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Association for Strategic Planning
Planning on Shifting Sands
with Randy Frisch, San Diego Business Journal
Tuesday, November 15
Courtyard Spectrum Center
Click to register
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
8:00 - 11:00 AM
HOW TO WIN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: STRATEGY AND REPORT CARD
with Stephen Haines,
Haines Centre for Strategic Management
Gloomy Economic Outlook for the US and Developed World
According to McKinsey's latest survey, most executives fear a double-dip recession in the next six months and a splintering of the Eurozone over the next two years.
At the company level, executives have a gloomy outlook on corporate performance as well. From workforce size to customer demand to profits, executives surveyed are projecting declines over the next six months, down from their expectations in June this year.
By contrast, executives in developed areas of Asia - Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan - reported that economies are better now than they were six months ago. And the emerging markets of China, India and parts of Latin America are seeing even more positive economic growth.
As a business leader, regardless of your organization's size, having your finger on the economic pulse is vital to keeping your business moving in a forward direction.
Our SKEPTIC template provides 8 areas to focus on as you consider these future issues. Assign one letter to key executives and have them report regularly on the external issues they feel might arise so action can be taken early to head things off at the pass. Download the template here.
Making Better Decisions in Uncertain Times
Profound uncertainty amplifies the importance of making decisions when the time is right--that is to say, at the moment when the fog has lifted enough to make the choice more than a crap shoot, but before things are clear to everyone, including competitors.
In a December 2009 McKinsey Quarterly article, Lowell Bryan lists several steps company executives can take to make better decisions, a few of which are:
Focus on pivotal roles
An essential first step he says is simply to define who occupies the pivotal roles. Some companies may have just a few; others 20, 150, or even more. Regardless of the number there needs to be an intensity of interaction to make critical decisions effectively and collaboratively.
Performance measurement
Managers should be held, not just individually but also mutually, accountable for their actions - in other words, evaluating how effectively they contribute to the success of others.
Surface critical issues
What has become increasingly important is the early surfacing of opportunities and threats arising out of external events such as dramatic shifts in demand, competitive behavior, industry structure, regulation, or the macro-economic environment. Our SKEPTIC tool can be useful as a template to help guide this research and share results.
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