Many years ago I learnt the term ‘choiceful’ from an American colleague; he said good strategy was ‘choiceful’ because it eliminated some desirable options. Books and books and more books have been written on strategy, but ‘choicefulness’ is a keeper - just like Porter’s famous insight that: “The essence of strategy is choosing what not … Continue reading Good Strategy/Bad Strategy
Down on the farm
All organisations moan about their planning rounds. Some say they want a clear process, some say they want a simple target; everyone wants more resources - and there's the rub. As I often say, the truth is: human beings go to war for resources. So not surprising then that anyone battling the annual planning round, … Continue reading Down on the farm
‘Monetising’ Problems
By John Worne Not everything can be counted in money, nor should it be - but paradoxically putting a price on a deeply human problem usually helps move things along. Why? Once something intractable is 'monetised' as a "£1m problem"; either in direct spend to fix it or in potential hidden losses and impacts, then … Continue reading ‘Monetising’ Problems
Why we don’t always need ‘Big Trousers’
By John Worne There are lots of different forms of leadership; what works is often situational and dependent on context. The stereotype - even the default expectation - is dominant, alpha, decisive and driving: 'big trousers' leadership. But today's world is often too complex for too much of that. The leadership that a Specialist-Generalist brings … Continue reading Why we don’t always need ‘Big Trousers’
It’s a Disaster… but it doesn’t have to be
By John Worne When something goes badly wrong, it often takes a COO or Specialist-Generalist to figure out how best to sort out the mess. All major incidents: fires, floods, IT outages, even violent attacks affect the same three things: people, places and services. So they automatically cut across Operations, Communications and HR - with … Continue reading It’s a Disaster… but it doesn’t have to be
Developing a Growth Mentality: ‘Lean in’ by Sheryl Sandberg
By John Worne An important insight for Specialist-Generalists from Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg (among a great many others) is Eric Schmidt of Google's advice that only one criterion matters when picking a job - fast growth. Sandberg writes: 'When companies grow quickly, there are more things to do than people to do them. When companies … Continue reading Developing a Growth Mentality: ‘Lean in’ by Sheryl Sandberg
The Specialist-Generalist 