Several years ago a close
friend handed me a book on investing. “Here, Dov. You can keep this lousy
book. I followed this guy’s advice and it doesn’t work.”
I had read that book
already. I was also very familiar with my friend’s investment choices.
This is for sure: Had the author been peering over my friend’s shoulder as
he made his stock market decisions, the author would have been appalled.
“Stop! What are you doing?! How does what you just did resemble my advice?”
he would have yelled.
Continued below…
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What our clients say
about a strategy retreat we recently facilitated:
“…Prior to hiring Dov we thought that as businessmen with successful
businesses we should be able to do this ourselves. When we concluded the
strategy retreat and looked back we agreed that had we met alone, we would
have accomplished but a fraction of what Dov helped us achieve...
"I believe that what we did with Dov on those two days was probably the most
important and valuable step we took at Datamercial all year."
-- Ari Ginsberg,
President, Datamercial Inc.
------------------
Continued…
Executives will often say things like
“We want to implement
Good to Great in our organization.” Or, “We are developing a
Blue Ocean Strategy.” Or some other worthy management ideas. We’ve
all been there. Think back to the last time you wanted to implement an idea
of significance in your organization? If only it were so easy!
When the time comes to
act on someone’s advice there is a roadblock to avoid: the half-baked
measure. It is tempting at times to jump into action before we really
understand. It is tempting to skip the most important step of all: clear
thinking and ruthless planning.
If Jim Collins (author of
“Good
to Great”) or Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne (authors of “Blue
Ocean Strategy”) were looking over your shoulder, would they agree that
you followed their advice? Would they consider you a true student – or just
another pupil who killed some time in their hardcover classroom?
Dov
Gordon’s CEO Thought-Provoker™ Questions:
i.
When working to implement a new program:
-->
Are you in
danger of doing a superficial job?
-->
Do you slow
down long enough to identify what you really want to accomplish? Most good
ideas are a means to an end. If your destination isn’t clear -- any
management fad will take you there.
ii.
Do you have employees who come to work hot-to-trot with some new idea
they’ve picked up somewhere? Challenge them on it. Respectfully of course
and with the sole intention being to see how well they have thought it
through. Challenge how their idea fits with what you are trying to
create.
iii.
Chew on this for a few minutes: “Too often, people would rather do
something than think about the purpose of the doing. For them, action is
the same as progress.” Robert F. Mager in “Goal
Analysis” a very insightful and funny book. A classic.
The Gordon Group
works with organizations just like yours, helping them continue to raise the
bar, innovate and cross the chasm from “that’s a good idea” to “it is just a
natural part of our culture.” Ask us how we can help you:
dov@gordongroupec.com.
****
You can comment
on this and other CEO Thought-Provokers™ at our blog:
http://ceotp.blogspot.com/
Archives
of The CEO Thought-Provoker™ are here:
http://www.gordongroupec.com/CEOTP/CEO-Thought-Provoker-Archives.html
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Dov
Gordon helps
senior executives at small and mid-sized companies around the world to earn
the respect and admiration of their marketplace. Clients benefit from
clarifying their strategies, sharpening their focus, better decision making,
improved teamwork and growing into great leaders.
Management and Strategy
Consulting.
Executive Coaching.
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