10 Great Questions (of 35) for Leaders – Which is Your Favorite?

The questions below are an extract of an excellent list compiled by INC Magazine in the April 2014 issue:

  1. How can we become the company that would put us out of business? Danny Meyer (CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group)
  2. Are we relevant? Will we be relevant five years from now? Ten? Debra Kaye (innovation consultant, author)
  3. If energy were free, what would we do differently? Tony Hsieh (CEO of Zappos)
  4. What is it like to work for me? Robert Sutton (author & management professor at Stanford)
  5. INC0414_coverIf we weren’t already in this business, would we enter it today? And if not, what are we going to do about it? Peter Drucker (management expert & author)
  6. What trophy do we want on our mantle? Marcy Massura (digital marketer and brand strategist at MSL Group)
  7. Do we have bad profits? Jonathan Byrnes (author and senior lecturer at MIT)
  8. What counts that we are not counting? Chip Conley (founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality and had of global hospitality for Airbnb)
  9. In the past few months, what is the smallest change we have made that has had the biggest positive result? What was it about the small change that produced the large return? Robert Cialdini (author and professor emeritus of marketing and psychology at Arizona State University)
  10. Are we paying enough attention to the partners our company depends on to succeed? (Ron Adner, author and professor at Tuck School of Business)

Picture: www.inc.com

The Secret of Creative People

leo-burnett-on-creative-people

Concepts to Ponder:

  • Are you by nature curious, or do you stay in your comfort zone?
  • How can you push yourself to be more curious?
  • What “aspects of life” do you need to explore more?

Picture & Saying: www.twistedsifter.com

The Wrong Mindset for Transformational Change

Should we even be in this space? Do we offer a new product or service? Should we completely change our approach? Do we sell? Do we acquire? …

As most business leaders instinctively know, but often neglect to do, it’s important to periodically step back from the daily treadmill of activity and re-evaluate the foundational elements of vision and strategy. However, as the existential nature of the questions above imply, the possible answers can be quite transformational, or even disruptive.

Not surprisingly these considerations often lead to a combination of excitement about visionary opportunities, and concern about the risk of undermining (or destabilizing) current success. While much has been written on the logical step-by-step process for defining strategy, I’d like to focus instead on the “right…& wrong” mindset (or perspective) with which to approach these questions and navigate the emotional roller coaster of excitement and concern. In this first post on the topic, let’s deal with two common “wrong perspectives:”WRONG WAY

(more…)