Good strategy is not enough; commitment and decisive execution are required as well.

During the last quarter in the last few years, I was very busy preparing strategic plans with my great team. We have invested heavily in preparations, discussions and finally in decisions. The planning process was creative, positive and dynamic as individual strengths and teamwork blended into solid plans.

The ability of team members to enroll into a real “thinking together” mode is the essence of strategic dialogue in its true sense. The outcome is a strong plan with full consensus in regards to what we are going to do in the forthcoming year.

Achieving a consensus is very significant because it implies that the entire team is synchronized and committed to the plans.

Strategic plans, detailed and professional as they may be, needs to be executed properly. Just getting it ready, on time, is not enough. I would not be cynical if I will say that there is "graveyard" full of former companies with very good plans and intentions…

Once the plan is clarified and has been agreed it is time for implementation. With the right committed people it could be fully accomplished. This is one of the main success factors.
I would say that the future of global corporations relays not only on the right strategic plans, but also on people and their abilities to implement.

"Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work." -Peter Drucker

Succession planning: leadership challenge or opportunity?

In today's competitive markets, it is essential to maintain highly-qualified leadership talent. It is also important to the continued corporate performance. The concept is very clear, but is it easy to implement it?

The HR role is only secondary in this process; it is one of the strategic missions any business leader should face. Having said that the general expectation is that a business leader will invest in his successor. Handled properly, the business leader will gain challenged follower and motivated potential team leader.

In some cases, business managers find the above process challenging and even threatening. As simple as it sounds. Although they realize the importance of developing the potential leader' skills, they step back and stress an invisible line which makes the succession process impossible. Instead of being satisfied with their team talent development, they think about those who "outshine the master"…

Great business leaders identify and develop the skills of their team in general and for those who can replace them, in particular.

The benefit is straightforward. Successful succession planning provides the professional horizon for leadership talents. It also demonstrates the correlation between the corporate leadership requirements and long term management motivation.

Succession planning, in my opinion, is not just an opportunity. It is a strategic investment opportunity.

Meir

Leadership examination: admit or hide a critical mistake?

Let's describe hypothetical situation, just for the sake of this discussion.

You are a new MD and you need to make some courageous decisions. You have no previous experience as MD and you try to postpone some of the decisions till the very last minute. Then you finally make a decision.

2 months later, you do realize that you have made a big mistake. This is a critical mistake which effect badly one of the areas under your responsibility. You have the perspective required to acknowledge the fact that you are responsible for the given situation. The question is what do you do?

Do you admit that you have made a mistake? By doing so, you may be risking your new role reputation as you are constantly under the spotlight.  Your future and credibility are on the stake here…  Looking at the bright side, you will be known as a leader who set an example, admit mistakes and correct what is needed, accordingly. It is difficult and takes courage, but it is the right thing to do as a leader.

The alternative is burying or hiding your mistake. It may be easier in the short term, as your reputation will not be harmed (yet). However, from the nature of mistakes, errors tend to intensify as time goes by. Moreover, you will need to deal with the consequences in the middle and long term, working harder to compensate or even cover your error. Choosing this approach you may maintain your reputation as a good manager, capable of handling difficult tasks…

The two options mentioned above reflects, in my opinion, the fundamental difference between a leader and manager. It is way beyond the concept of admitting a mistake.

Considering the above situation, what would you do? Which approach would you choose in such circumstances?

Looking forward to receiving your comments.

Meir

Strategic leadership means change.

Business leaders are asked to strategically plan their action and act according to the (strategic) plan.

Strategic leadership needs to ensure that the proper adjustments are done on the move, as changes happens on a daily basis. There will always be a gap between  the global, mega trends, our plans and the ever changing reality. 

As strategic business leaders we shape capabilities by adapting internal plans and systems to fit the external environment. 

We have no option but to become change agents for the benefit and success of our organization.

Can business leaders influence via self-awareness?

Successful business leaders are shaping their own circumstances and experiences into accomplishment.

It is all about self-awareness. It allows leaders to have greater influence and control over their performance (as well as their team performance).

Awareness and control allow business leaders to respond almost instinctively to any situation, complex as it may be. Leaders making a conscious effort to improve will have laid the foundation for better knowing and understanding their team members.

Awareness also enables act in a manner which reflects and is consistent with personal and business values. This will lead to even more credibility which is important for any member of a team, leader or follower.

LinkedIn contacts: the more the better OR is it quality rather than quantity that matters?

When I joined LinkedIn about 10 years ago, it was real fun networking virtually online. As an "early adopter" it has really provided me with a unique advantage.

As a matter of fact, I have used this emerging platform as a tool for generating new contacts within major Telecom operators in Europe. It was really helpful.

I have also received many invitations to connect, and was very easy with accepting new invitations...

At the end of the day, as most of us will agree (hopefully), it's not the quantity but the quality.

One more thing - as a business leader I can say that social media is great for networking as 250 million users can't be wrong... However, I would not use it as prime source but rather as a supportive tool to maintain existing contacts and acquire new ones, if and when relevant.

Great Networker has many face to face contacts which could be easily leveraged toward new, professional contacts.

Meir

Leadership, innovation and courageous decisions

Leadership and innovation means making bold decisions.

One cannot lead or innovative without a measure of courage. Take away courageous decisions, and innovation and leadership lose their potency. Leaders are accountable for the decisions they make. Leaders should celebrate successful decisions and constructively evaluate those decisions that were less successful. In my opinion, innovative employees are often strong leaders.

When employees are consistently pushing growth or innovative ideas, management should recognize their potential for leadership roles.

Why every business leader needs a mentor?

My answer, to the above question, in one sentence: simply because of the honest feedback, a rare commodity in these days…

Being a business leader is complex and associates with broad responsibility. A business leader may receive feedback from his manager, peers and team members. It is amazing how many times the formal feedback tells you what you want to hear… In other cases measure of fear of repercussion is semantically noticed during feedback.

Whether formal or informal, in some cases these feedbacks are not complete and may not necessarily reflect full objectivity. There are many, diverse interests out there. For example, a manager may provide good feedback simply because "if it is not broken, do not need to fix it". Team members may be interested in pleasing or satisfying management, so constructive criticism may be limited.

Mentor feedback, however, should be very open and accurate. As such, it is much focused and probably very important, powerful tool for strategic business leadership development. There is not a strict definition for Mentor. It can be any trusted person, with relevant experience who can contribute significantly to the mentee development. Successful Mentorship could be achieved provided that one is fully committed to the development process.

Career development plans, formal training and performance reviews are important tools, but may not be enough, considering the broad nature of business leadership. Winning organizations should encourage mentoring either on formal or informal (yet structured) basis.

Every great leader that I know had a great role model as a mentor

Leadership plays a decisive role in enhancing employee commitment

Retaining the talent that has already been recruited is a must in today's competitive marketplace. 

As a business leader I do believe that good leadership has a profound effect on retention. It is the honest feedback mechanism that positively fine tunes the sense of member worth and purpose. 

A commitment to stay in a given workplace is also influenced by a perceived connection between work and the organization’s mission. Leaders should be able to reflect that. It is clear that Leadership is a very influential variable affecting job satisfaction, commitment and willingness to stay.

How large size corporations can be even greater businesses?

Big companies could be illustrated as a huge ship, sailing safely and navigating at all seas and in all weather conditions.

Sure, as such, it has huge advantages as size does matters. The ship has clear directions, the team is experienced and once it is on the move, it will reach its destination.

Working with startups I have identified a few gaps (comparing to large size corporations) which should be re-considered:

1. Creativity ownership and leadership – yes, we are all encouraged to be creative. Some of our time may be devoted just for that. Yet in a startup, it means doing much more than that. Employees could and should be inspired by making something from nothing regardless of their professional expertise, sales tech or other professional function. Thinking out of the pattern (or the box) is not always intuitive, but it sure creates excitement which is amazingly powerful. In some cases, one does not need to re-invent the wheel, but just re-think about something that did not work in the past, take the lead and do it differently. It can make the entire difference. They can ask me how…

2. The importance of information flow. There will always be information that isn’t shared in big companies. I am not speaking about confidential financial figures or strategy but rather processes which affect the organization and presented in the very last moment. This is common information which handled on a "need to know basis" till it is common knowledge. In most cases this is not an intentional corporate method, but the general perception is that the team are not always part of a "greater" cause. Sharing "unclassified" information can make great deal improving the sense of belonging.

3. From Human Resources to Talent Management – everyone is a talent today. Do we really manage talent properly? It may sound like a rhetorical question, but it is not. The talent management starts during the recruitment phase and should involve other talents from existing team (and not only hiring manager and HR function). Once on board, there should be a coherent synchronization between performance evaluation and individual growth plan. If it could also be linked to the team cause / roadmap / development strategy, it could intensify the success on individual as well as team levels.

The above reflects my ideas and opinions. It may make sense to some of you, but I can also assume that these words would probably fade along the sea trail generated by the big ships…

Just some food for thought.

Meir