Please note that as you review the challenges below, we purposefully placed distractions along the way. Click at your own risk or reward.
Developing Strategy is easy. Whether you've done your MBA or not, everyone can develop or copy a strategy. The challenge is that few know how to implement on a large scale. Staying focused on the goal, stimulating commitment and getting an entire organization engaged requires great effort. Is there a code that can be applied to nearly every team that would provide predictable and consistent outcomes? Yes, most definitely.
Prejudice and racism is on the increase on a global scale. Social media has brought to light underlying challenges that plagues society and our world of business. Just ask Starbucks, the global coffee giant who shut down operations in 8000 US stores to do anti-bias training. Here is the challenge: Training might highlight awareness but diversity management initiatives and bias training do not change deep rooted prejudice during one workshop.
If managing diversity is outdated and ineffective, how is leveraging diversity different?
Culture change is espoused as the cure to all our strategy implementation challenges. In fact management guru Peter Drucker touted decades ago that “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. What then is the right culture for your organisation? Is it innovation, collaboration, team work, speed, productivity, engagement or happiness? You might say all of the these. But a happy workforce where people are cared for is not necessarily a profitable one? Ultimately it's results that matters!
Procrastination is the biggest thief of time. Knowing this truth, does not seem to stop the thief. Laziness, boredom, smartphones, social media are some of the distractions that plague us all. How can I can take control back and live the life I was meant to live. To deliver on my promises to my kids, my spouse, my colleague, my boss. There just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day.
We hire the best people we can find. At the time of recruitment, they have the credentials we needed to move our department forward. However, academic competence appears seems to be overrated. Performance management does not help either. Everyone is going through the motion of filling in forms and ticking the boxes. Even when everyone complies, we still don’t get the best out of our people. Why?
Unproductive meetings are frustrating for everyone because they waste time. On the other hand, productive meetings can be an extremely effective way of communicating, solving problems, making decisions, planning projects, or inspiring a team. So what are the fundamentals that leverage the productivity of your meetings, so that you can accomplish in 20 minutes what might require 2 hours in mediocre ones? What could you accomplish with the additional time you’ve gained? Think of the value opportunity that would create.
Personal productivity is all the rage. Self-help books is a billion-dollar industry. The internet is filled with good advice and fluff. YouTube channels abound with advice on effectiveness and getting things done. Yet procrastination is your biggest challenge. You’re a mom, a wife, a career woman, a soccer coach, and a community volunteer. Your health is at risk, but there’s no time to go to gym. How do you juggle all these priorities and still have time to smell the roses?
We have goals lack focus. Everyone is busy, but little gets done. Everyone seems committed to doing what is important. We all agree at the start of the quarter or year, but nothing changes. So we keep putting out fires. If we keep doing the same thing next year, we might have to let some people go or we’ll be out of business. It’s not that we don’t have good intentions, but we struggle to translate our good intentions into meaning, action, and results.
Unproductive meetings are frustrating for everyone because they waste time. On the other hand, productive meetings can be an extremely effective way of communicating, solving problems, making decisions, planning projects, or inspiring a team. So what are the fundamentals that leverage the productivity of your meetings, so that you can accomplish in 20 minutes what might require 2 hours in mediocre ones? What could you accomplish with the additional time you’ve gained? Think of the value opportunity that would create.
Few people notice that poster on the cafeteria wall anymore. The beautiful images on our website illustrating the values and associated behaviours we desire in everyone, are not a reflection of our reality. We’ve done road-shows, town hall meetings, engaged with worker-forums and union leaders. But living our values are hard and holding each other accountable is a labour-intensive and tiring process. Few people seem naturally committed to do the right thing.
There are opportunities all around us. Why do some see them but others cannot? When faced with two or more opportunities, which one should you take? How do I negotiate to get the best deal?
Making good business and life decisions with limited resources means focusing on those opportunities that keep us on track to our goals and mission. But so often we get sidetracked in initiatives, that dilute our efforts.
Culture change is espoused as the cure to all our strategy implementation challenges. In fact management guru Peter Drucker touted decades ago that “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. What then is the right culture for your organisation? Is it innovation, collaboration, team work, speed, productivity, engagement or happiness? You might say all of the above. But a happy workforce where people are cared for is not necessarily a profitable one? Ultimately results matter.
It has been said that it is easier to repair poor competence than weak character. Since it requires both character and competence to ensure people consistently deliver on their promises. Why not start early? Imagine what the results could be like if we start character development in Grade 1 and made it part of the curriculum. Imagine if character-building is led by parents and teachers - and championed by school headmasters. Imagine the impact on school play grounds. Imagine the impact on academics. Imagine the impact on families, neighbourhoods and communities. Imagine!
Understanding purpose is a teenager's greatest challenge, as they struggle to determine their unique identity in the “tug of war” of life. As if exams are not stressful enough, they must make decisions about their career, while trying to fit in with peers. Choices, require decisions. This is so hard, and the advice on offer makes the choices even more confusing. Peer pressure, the desire to succeed, the fear of failure and the need to be accepted can be overwhelming. Rather than the thrust to survive high school, how can parents partner with teachers, to help their kids reach their true potential and minimise (or even avoid) the consequence of no direction?
Discover the Opportunity