Blog
How rational actors can reach agreement.
Thesis: In the face of the same data, two rational people will make the same decision. Implication: When two people disagree on something it is likely that there is something one knows that the other does not. Strategy: When two people disagree, each should strive to reveal what is relevant that s/he knows and that … Continue reading How rational actors can reach agreement.
Market Lead Position Description
An organization counts on a Market Leader to: Build and work with a top team to develop, maintain, and drive to achieve an annual plan for a well-defined portfolio of current and targeted customers. Connect with established and emerging customers to develop a point of view as to where the market is and where it should go and then proactively and systematically … Continue reading Market Lead Position Description
How to Run a Great Annual Leadership Team Offsite Meeting.
Most leaders find it difficult to adequately prepare— assuming they even know how — to facilitate a high-powered, executive offsite. The truth is that it is nearly impossible for a leader to facilitate and participate in, let alone also lead, their own offsite. A better strategy is to hire experts who use proven approaches, tools, … Continue reading How to Run a Great Annual Leadership Team Offsite Meeting.
What to think about when deciding to Bid/No-Bid the deal of a lifetime.
TO: Board of Directors FROM: CEO SUBJECT: Input on an opportunity to bid for a strategic project I just got off the phone with the President of the top player in our target vertical market west of the Mississippi: Opportunity: They are going to let an RFP in two weeks to six or fewer strategy consulting … Continue reading What to think about when deciding to Bid/No-Bid the deal of a lifetime.
How to Drive Elite C-Suite Performance
In a traditional performance evaluation, someone is assigned to compile and review with each executive a summary of her/his strengths, contributions, growth, and opportunities for improvement. The traditional process has many weaknesses which are summarized in this article recently published by Flevy.com, such as: Compiling a quality performance assessment is difficult; consequently it often gets … Continue reading How to Drive Elite C-Suite Performance
How top MBA students should choose between Operations vs Finance.
Business school students have to decide their course of study from day-1 … and the choice makes all the difference. The first decision almost always comes down to operations vs finance: The allure of finance is working with money to buy and sell companies. Success is when a small stake in a large transaction generates a … Continue reading How top MBA students should choose between Operations vs Finance.
How to head off unwanted voluntary attrition and what to do when it happens.
When an employee departs voluntarily it is almost always unanticipated and unwanted. Too often, though, leaders rationalize that employees who leave voluntarily were marginal and will not be missed. To keep the best on board, and to head off after-the-fact rationalizations, ask managers now to identify employees they would least like to lose. Go on to … Continue reading How to head off unwanted voluntary attrition and what to do when it happens.
What to do when an employee no longer cuts it.
Before terminating an employee for poor performance, first double and triple check that the real problem is not that expectations are undeveloped, unclear, or not understood and aligned with abilities and interest. Resist the temptation to reassign the person to another part of the organization in order to not have to deal with the matter. … Continue reading What to do when an employee no longer cuts it.
Paying Fair: Four paths to fair pay and succession for private venture executives.
Background Public company equity-based pay practices, such as stock, restricted stock, and employee stock options are often a poor fit for private companies committed to reward leaders for performance and growth and to motivate leadership and capital succession. Equity based programs that make sense and work well in a public company come with many ills … Continue reading Paying Fair: Four paths to fair pay and succession for private venture executives.
Empowering Leadership: Cultivating Accountability and Growth in Your Team
I tell everyone who works with, or for, me that they are never to do something because I told them to do it. I do not want or expect anyone to do what I ask just because I told them to do it. Instead, I insist they do what they do because: They understand what … Continue reading Empowering Leadership: Cultivating Accountability and Growth in Your Team
Level Titles
It is a good practice to separate level titles from job functions. This independence allows general criteria to be applied as it makes sense to a given the job function and in a way that transcends job functions so that we can assign someone to a new role without having to rethink the level-title. The … Continue reading Level Titles
How to reduce risks on important projects.
Background on Managing Risk on Important Projects In the context of any strategic initiative involving a significant evolution in systems, process, or organization, risk is the chance that the effort will be less than a complete success … that it will be late, over budget, perform unacceptably when completed, fail to realize the expected business … Continue reading How to reduce risks on important projects.