Side shows are designed to be seductive. They are often brighter, bolder, and more garrish than the main show. They try to make up for lack of substance with superior showmanship.
Don't fall for them. Find the main show. Find the center ring of what's most important to the organization. Focus your time and attention on that part of the effort or on efforts that support that main thrust.
It's not enough to go for any shiny object. Aim for the brass ring in the center ring.
What happens to the organization when you’re not in it? That question drives Ron Bogart’s leadership fable, A Heartbeat Away: How Strong Organizations Outlast Strong Personalities. One character wakes from…
Read Article
When Wolf-Gordon announced it was buying Andor Willow and Look Walls and Interiors, the logic behind the acquisition was easy to read. The private equity owner, Charger Investment Partners, wants…
Read Article
Many tactical projects fail before they start because leaders green-light the wrong things for the wrong reasons. Before you say “yes,” to a project, you and your team should answer…
Read Article
In judo, you do not try to overpower a stronger opponent. You accept their strength, side-step their thrust, and use their weight and momentum to throw them. My earlier article,…
Read Article
Every executive walking into a new role is, for a while, stupid. Not incapable. Not unqualified. Stupid in the specific, unavoidable sense that they do not yet know what they…
Read Article
There's a version of executive onboarding that almost never gets written about, probably because it looks so easy from the outside. Whether it’s the CFO succeeding the CEO, or the…
Read Article