The Executive Coach

Did you know that the greatest impediment to becoming great is being good?

In his global blockbuster Good to Great, Jim Collins makes the hypothesis that the greatest barrier to becoming great in your business is being good.

I think the same holds true for your career. Being good at what you do, prevents you from making a fundamental leap frog to being great because:

1) Success is equated to a validation of the past and present.
2) We are too focused on current customers and challenges.
3) We are too focused on current sector and not redefining what business you are in or should be in.
4) Too focused on managerial obsessions of cost cutting and efficiency improvements.
5) Our organizations and reward systems reward short term goal attainment and incremental improvements.
6) We strive to mitigate risk or are risk averse by nature.
7) There is comfort and an illusion of security in sticking to what we know.

Restructuring your career or business will help you close the performance gap. You should instead plan for a renewal, taking advantage of new opportunities.

Putting It Into Action:

In general, professionals who make drastic and revolutionary changes in their career directions failed to invest in small but progressive evolutionary moves towards new careers.

Find a sustainable way to make money in the present to support and prepare a career or business transformation for the future. In business, our cash cows fund our research projects and exploratory products and services. For your career, you may want to join a Board, volunteer, join a professional association, attend a conference or work on a project or consult in the area that you think you want to gravitate towards.

With you along the path towards success,
Joseph

How can you plan the future when you are struggling to meet the needs of today?

Leadership is the future. What are you doing today to prepare? I recently interviewed the Dean of one of the world`s best business schools. I asked him, `` What makes a great leader?`` The first words that came out of his mouth was, `` A clear vision of the future.``

Professor Vivay Govindarajan of Michigan University, talks about Box 1, Box 2 and Box 3 Thinking. Box 1 Thinking is Manage the Present and it is unfortunately what most companies think is strategy. Box 2 Thinking is Selectively Forget the Past. Box 3 Thinking is Create the Future.
To effectively and strategically plan your business and career strategy, you should start with Box 3. Visualize and conceptualize your vision for the future and begin to create what it will look like.

Putting It Into Action:

Many of us are stuck in BOX 1 because we are somewhat successful and are often obsessed with making marginal improvements. We think that our success is a validation of our past actions and strategy.

Chances are you are somewhat unsatisfied in your career or business because you have settled on marginal success. Global events like the rise of China and India will re-write the business fundamentals. You must plan out a forward looking vision of the future in a space that is not currently or in the near future being met by cheaper sources of labour (Box 2 Thinking). You must develop a date specific action plan to achieve future success. It may help to meet regularly with a group of forward looking visionaries who are looking forward to rewriting the rules in their favour.

With you along the path towards success,
Joseph

Would you like to know the ten characteristics that the world`s most successful companies and their leaders practice?

A 2006 study by Fortune Magazine and the HR consultancy, The Hay Group, rated the Fortune 1000 and Global 500 based on corporate reputations.

The top ten keys they found that separated the best organizations from the worst organizations were:

1) Increased Clarity – consistent and focused communication at all levels
2) Integrated Culture – part of their DNA, embedded in their operations
3) Global Alignment – alignment around values and culture
4) Consistency – maintain a long term focus and consistent customer experience
5) Focus on People – proactive strategy to develop all levels of talent, provide mentorship and coaching
6) Better EQi – great awareness and improvement of Emotional Intelligence
7) Increased Diversity – leadership and management team shows diversity in sex, heritage, lifestyle and backgrounds
8) Team Builders – team players and collaborative culture
9) Open Culture – healthy discussion, challenges and constructive criticism
10) Intense Innovation – built into culture, expected from all levels and rewarded

According to the study, the Top Ten Companies included: General Electric, Toyota, P & G, Fed Ex, Nokia, BP, BMW, etc. Nine of the Top Ten are consistent performers, being on the list in 2005.

Putting It Into Action:

No matter what your level in your organization, it is imperative that you begin to embrace, illustrate and champion the above listed ten leadership keys.

Conduct a leadership competencies gap analysis to identify your strongest strengths. Improve on your strongest strengths by planning and implementing a weekly key leadership strategies action plan. Move to a lesser dominate skill only once you are fully leveraging your strengths.

With you along the path towards success,
Joseph

Have you heard the expression, your eyes are the mirror to your soul?

The mirror neuron resides on the right side of your brain, the creative side. The mirror neuron is amazing because it mirrors 100% of what the eyes see, subconsciously. Only your consciousness knows whether the event actually happened.

How much of what you learned from high school has remained with you? If you are like most people, you study for exams, perform an information dump and then forget most of what you learned shortly thereafter. We are no longer in high school and we are too busy and life is moving to quickly, to not retain our learning.

In order to retain our learning, the human mind must see it, interact with it and do something with it. We should be teaching to the right side of the brain and storing it in the left (logical or rational) side of the brain. Instead, we tend to teach it in the left and expect the right to go get it, understand it and retain the new knowledge. E-learning with individual follow-up or coaching is the usual solution.

Learning today requires:
1) Motivation -- for the individual (rewards, money, career enhancement, etc.)
2) Coaching – interactive and two way
3) Retention – practice is reinforcement, have them summarize into own words
4) Transference – application to own scenarios and go forward plan = ownership

Putting It Into Action:

Do not dump learning and e-learning on everyone and force them to use it. Ensure that the four requirements mentioned above will be met. Implement or champion your training in phases. Start with your most enthusiastic learners, followed by early adopters, middle adopters and lagers. Save the die hards for last. Look for higher visibility and higher impact opportunities to apply the new learning. Get testimonials along the way and have the first batch of trainees attract the next batch to attend the training sessions.

With you along the path towards success,
Joseph