One of the most interesting things I’ve learned through systems thinking is that individual components of a system can be functioning, and the overall system can still have a problem. Think about an aircraft. The propulsion system can work. The avionics can work. The flight controls can work. The electrical […]
Insights
There is a certain kind of marketing that seems determined to convince us that we are behind as soon as we read the ad. Transform your life in 30 days. Five habits successful professionals never skip. Download this before another year passes you by. Good grief. Most people I know […]
Excellence has been a hallmark of my career. I am trained as a process improvement SME, have operations experience, and my doctoral dissertation was on performance excellence at the industry level. But as life and responsibility have expanded, excellence alone is no longer my primary goal. It feels heretical to […]
Our phone battery tells us its remaining capacity on a scale of 0–100 percent. In a similar way, we each have a limited daily capacity—attention, energy, patience, and focus. When we overload a phone with too many apps and photos, it slows down, drains faster, and becomes less effective. Life […]
Many high performers move through a familiar progression: from being reactive, to enhanced structure, to optimization. Early in our careers, life and work can feel reactive. You’re responding to what’s in front of you and doing your best with what you have. Then as you grow and mature, you often […]
Organizations love listing strengths: strong people, good culture, great service, solid reputation. Taking a strategic perspective results in a more difficult question: are those actual advantages, or are they the same things that everyone else also has? This is exactly what the VRIO framework, developed by Jay Barney, helps clarify. […]
One of the key lessons for me in life is that there are seasons when you want to take the next step, but it feels surprisingly unclear. A relationship changes. A career direction no longer fits. You’re not in a crisis per se, but you’re not moving forward either. You […]
In business, we understand that making emotional decisions isn’t good sense. That’s why organizations rely on structure. Meeting cadences, agendas, decision frameworks, and defined processes, for example. These mechanisms are not about control, they exist to protect the quality of decisions when pressure is high. Life, however, doesn’t operate the […]
As organizations mature, their focus naturally shifts toward incremental innovation. The emphasis moves from big, disruptive change to smaller improvements that enhance existing processes. These refinements help protect what has already been built, reinforce operating rhythms, and meet the evolving needs of customers and suppliers. In many ways, incremental innovation […]
In strategic management, few tools are as enduring and as clarifying as the Value Chain. At its core, the value chain helps leaders distinguish between what creates value and what supports it. While every function in a business matters, not every function plays the same role. The Value Chain Teaches […]
Have you ever felt like you’re doing a lot, but not really getting anywhere? Your calendar is packed, your tasks are checked off, but deep down, something still feels off. It’s not just a time management issue, it’s a direction issue. What if you had one sentence that could re-center […]
Have you ever felt like you’re working hard—but not sure if you’re working toward something that truly matters? This can leave you feeling…a bit fried. Whether you’re running a business or managing your own life, the shift from simply doing to strategically designing is where transformation begins. Strategic planning is […]
Strategic planning in business isn’t just about setting goals—it’s about fueling intrinsic motivation, the driving force behind true, sustainable growth. The most successful business leaders don’t simply follow a roadmap; they own their strategy, adapt to change, and embrace learning as a privilege rather than a task. Think of Jeff […]
In both business and personal life, three fundamental forces shape our direction: 1. Strategy – The long-term vision and goals we set. Where are we headed? What do we want to achieve? When we fail to think strategically, we become reactive rather than intentional. We drift instead of directing our […]
Publically traded companies are assessed by a myriad of financial and operational ratios by shareholders. Business owners and executives measure success by KPIs: growth, sales, marketing engagement, social stats, etc. Even at the individual level, we can perceive ourselves positively or negatively based on how others respond to us. When […]
The end of the year often provides opportunities to reflect and causes us to think about the journey ahead. While my consultancy primarily focuses on business strategy, I’m always delighted someone reaches out to discuss crafting personal strategies. These are usually individuals who are in the midst of change and […]
In the world of business, strategy is not just a plan; it’s a dynamic process that requires both depth and breadth of understanding. Whether you’re running a small shop or a multinational corporation, the keys of strategy remain the same: executives need fundamental business acumen coupled with a panoramic view […]
Developing the right strategy is an iterative and experimental process. While seeking to prove a strategic hypothesis, you often discover unexpected and fruitful ideas that can help you perfect your strategy. On the surface, it might look like the most successful strategies are carefully planned. In truth, some industry leaders […]
Businesses, especially large ones, rely heavily on plans, processes and routines. These can quickly become unproductive models of rigid organizational management though, fixated on metrics that are not tightly coupled with innovation. External events often force departure from the routine. When this happens, the processes that are in place can […]
Businesses, especially large ones, rely heavily on plans, processes and routines. These can quickly become unproductive models of rigid organizational management though, fixated on metrics that are not tightly coupled with innovation. Employees must be empowered to learn, adjust, and be willing to take bold action that can lead to change.
Short term strategic shifts cannot be avoided. Often times though, an organization defines a strategy and then sticks with it, without understanding how to make strategic adjustments along the way. Some reasons for strategy shifts include responding to external changes or adapting to internal business pressure or new capabilities. Strategic […]
Research shows that systems thinking and metacognition (awareness and understanding of one’s own thought process) lie at the root of both IQ enhancing and EQ enhancing skills. Developing both emotional intelligence and IQ skills requires a distinction between cognition (thinking) and metacognition (the ability to reflect on and understand how […]
Strategic planning is a process of defining and executing a long-term vision for an organization, based on its mission, values, goals and in consideration of the external environment in which it operates. It helps align the organization’s resources, capabilities, and activities with its desired outcomes and creates a sustainable dynamic […]
A strategy is a prediction about the future. It is a hypothesis that can be tested in small pilots and pivoted over time. A good strategy should be formulated as an if-then statement that specifies the internal actions and external conditions that will lead to your expected results. A powerful strategy […]
Almost 20 years ago, a British mathematician and entrepreneur in the field of data science stated that “Data is the new oil.” At the time, it was a very provocative statement. These days, this quote rings true and has largely been validated. Oil contributes to economic results. In raw form, […]