As Dwight D. Eisenhower is quoted in Six Crises by Richard Nixon, “In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable.” The universe responds to action. Within every moment a bias for action enables us to take advantage of the opportunities to fulfill our goals, meet our objectives… Read More
Our Goal of Eating an Elephant
At the grand tactical level it is extremely helpful to be specific on how we may achieve our goals. It is beneficial to think at a low level and list out all the steps to manage the goals that we choose just as much as we orient our goals to our objectives at the higher… Read More
What Goals do We Need?
Recognizing where we are in relation with our vision and objectives is vital to the success of what we endeavor to do with our life. Comparing where we are with where we desire to be is the foundation of managing the situations occurring in our lives. This level of awareness where we feel the tension… Read More
Forming Objectives
To form objectives that support our vision, it is of value to explore the environment and day to day situations we find ourselves in. We have to look at how we operate within our world. Every moment affords us new opportunities and new paths provided we are open to see them. To witness the unfolding… Read More
How do We Make Our Vision Real?
The impetus to explore is inherent within us. It is born out of our sense of wonder and not knowing we should fear the unknown. After coming out of the womb we breathe, move, eat and poop followed by opening our eyes at which point our exploration starts in earnest. We explore through our touch,… Read More
Our Vision Breathes Life into our Actions
Our vision is alive right here and now or it isn’t. We have to continually look at today’s problems in the light of our future aspirations. When we have a vision we are passionate about, it breathes life into our work in the present. Having a vision imbued with passion allows us to adjust our… Read More
Knowing Why Creates the How
Our vision gives us direction and orients our actions on a tactical level. It connects us to the world beyond our lives and times. It gives a why. As Viktor Frankl indicates, if we know “why” we exist, we will be able to bear almost any “how.” In the midst of an ever changing situation… Read More
What is this Strategy Stuff?
Sometimes at work we hear about strategy meetings. The executives have a strategy meeting. Corporate managers can have an off-site strategy meeting. Managers in a retail store or supervisors in a coffee shop can have strategy meetings. What they heck is strategy and why do people meet about it? The dictionary indicates strategy is a… Read More
Our vision breathes life into our daily activities.
As Peter Senge points out in the Fifth Discipline, when there’s no shared vision within a company, there’s no common identity or goal amongst the employees. As employees, we can see this lack of vision. Division objectives are set without taking into account operational capability and efficiencies. Departmental goals are disjointed accomplishing an improvement here… Read More
Managing Our Margins
In a meeting the other day, an individual mentioned getting a supplier to manage their margins. In business, margin management can mean different things to different functions. To a program manager it is the process of looking at risk from a margin perspective, addressing costs and revenues together as a single unit of risk. Looking… Read More
Business of You 