If you’ve ever gone whitewater rafting, then you know the importance of planning. Whenever the raft approaches rapids, the guide has to plan the best route to navigate safely through them. If the guide fails to plan, then the raft can easily smash into a rock or capsize. Four Types of Planning Passive planning happens…
Month: August 2009
Decision Making with OODA Loops
Has it ever struck you just how many military terms have become everyday terms in business-speak? As well as “fighting off threats” or “engaging in a price war”, we talk about “gathering intelligence”, “making a pre-emptive strike”, and even trying to “out-maneuver” the competition. War and business are often compared and contrasted. And it’s fun…
When Plans Don’t Go According to the Script, Keep Planning
“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower As Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II, Dwight D. Eisenhower planned, coordinated, and carried out the largest amphibious assault ever undertaken – the Invasion of Normandy. Historians regard him…
What Services Customers Really Want
Asked what dimensions of customer service they would most like to see companies measure, the highest number of U.S. consumers surveyed — 65% — said “knowledgeable employees,” which most defined as able to “answer my questions without putting me on hold, searching for someone, or transferring me.” 62% said “treats me like a valued customer”…
Who’s Reading Your Email?
According to a new Proofpoint study of 220 leaders at American companies with over 1,000 employees, 38% employ staff to read or otherwise analyze the content of outgoing email, compared to 29% last year. Why the big increase in surveillance? 34% said their businesses had been affected by the exposure of sensitive or embarrassing information,…
Organization Development Models – McKinsey 7S
The McKinsey 7S Framework was named after a consulting company, McKinsey and Company, which has conducted applied research in business and industry (Pascale & Athos, 1981; Peters & Waterman, 1982). The authors all worked as consultants at McKinsey and Company; in the 1980’s, they used the model in over seventy large organizations. The McKinsey 7S…
Cautious Growth for Most Companies
Executives surveyed by McKinsey in late July expect their companies to remain financially cautious over the next 12 months, yet they also indicated they are actively seeking growth — and doing so in more ways than they were just six months earlier. Among specific actions companies might take in response to the crisis but haven’t…
Changing Nature of Consumer Decisions
Consumer-driven marketing is increasingly important as customers seize control of the process and actively “pull” information helpful to them. McKinsey research found that during the phase when consumers are considering a purchase, 2/3 of the touch points (that is, moments when customers learned more about a product) were actually driven by the consumer rather than…
Overcoming Fear as a Leader
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born into wealth and prestige, and as a young Harvard graduate, he seemed destined for success. By the age of 30 he was elected as a state senator, and a few years later he was appointed as Assistant Secretary of the Navy.However, shortly before Roosevelt turned 40, tragedy struck when he…
America’s Most Prestigious Jobs
Firefighters hold the most prestigious job in America, according to a Harris Poll survey of 1,010 U.S. adults. 62% say firefighters have “very great prestige,” with scientists (57%) and doctors (56%) following closely behind. The least prestigious? Real estate agents (5%), accountants (11%), and stockbrokers (13%). Business executives are held in higher esteem this year…
Leaders that SUCK
I have been wanting to create a list of characteristics of leaders that suck at leadership. While i believe that everyone is a leader, not everyone is good at it. Leaders who suck at leadership are the ones who are: S: Self-Centred – Have you ever met leaders whose sole purpose in life seems to…
Good Salary News Ahead
U.S. workers can look forward to a rebound in merit pay raises in 2010. A median merit increase of 3% is projected — up from 2% in 2009 — according to the Watson Wyatt survey of 235 large U.S. companies. And a survey of nearly 900 companies found that 90% planned pay raises in 2010,…
Everyone A Leader 