Where Should A New CEO Focus First?

The basics of 1) owning the vision, 2) investing in the right people, and 3) fueling the most important efforts by others are always necessary – and never sufficient. The secret to success is the application of those basics.

Leading with a Clear Vision

Align everyone around a meaningful and rewarding shared purpose.
Execute against that purpose on a societal, business and individual level with the discipline to keep the efforts separate.
Leverage the synergies. There are always synergies between efforts with the same purpose.

Three Steps to a Compelling Message

Compelling messages rarely appear out of thin air. Messages that make a real impact are the result of a lot of hard work, even though some business leaders and politicians seem to be able to create messages like magic.  For the rest of us: Depict the platform for change Create a vision of a brighter [...]

Ron Krueck’s Vision of a More Welcoming Michigan Avenue Facade in Chicago

spertus

The Spertus Institute for Judaic Studies in Chicago faced a challenge. It was a wonderful place for people to come together to learn from each other and share perspective on Judaic history, culture and issues in lively discourse. But its building sent a different message. It said, “We’re special. Don’t even think about coming in [...]

I Have a Dream

MLK

The thing about this vision thing is that it's not about your vision.  It's about their vision.  The great leaders over time have most certainly painted pictures of a brighter future.  Those pictures have been ones in which their audiences could picture themselves. As Jean Brown points out in Onboarding, Martin Luther King's "I have [...]