Being Smart Enough …

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ambiguous, Blind-Spots, complex, courage, entitlement, humility, intelligence, uncertain, volatile

I recall sitting through a seminar not too long ago hosted by a well-known author and psychologist, Madeline Levine.  I previously authored a post from that session titled Dealing With the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous), but this time I wanted to focus on something else she said related to an article I read this morning.

Dr. Levine has been approached on many occasions by companies across many industries with a similar question. All of the companies can be considered top in their class, and therefore can go after top young talent from our nations leading schools (Ivy League, Technology, you name it). And though intelligence abounds in some of these recruits, invariably it isn’t enough.

Coveting Preparation Time

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critical thinking, firefighting, preparation, priorities, strategic planning, tactical, velocity, volatility

I will prepare and someday my chance will come. – Abraham Lincoln

There is no better time to be reminded about stopping and taking time to prepare than when you are entering the strategic planning cycle for the upcoming year.  Just about a year ago, I posted about how 90% of leadership is preparation and being intentional about thinking through things carefully and thoroughly.  And yet all too often the tactical/operational elements of our jobs consume our mind share and energy to the point we sacrifice the strategic.

A Seemingly Easy Choice … Or Is It?

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character, derail, failure, integrity, pride, results, self-promotion, virtue

Back in January of this year, I referenced a couple of things in my post Aristotle on Purpose, Character, and Leadership that are top of mind this morning based upon a few discussions that closed the day yesterday.

Part of the post centers on the topic of character or virtue.  I commented that virtue cannot be taken from you … but it can be freely thrown away.  The post also refers to a book titled Derailed: Five Lessons Learned from Catastrophic Failures of Leadership where several examples of leaders who freely threw away their character can be found.

Leadership Styles & Culture

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culture, diplomat, idealist, leadership, Pragmatic Marketing, steward, styles

This morning I was catching up on a bit of reading and stumbled across a couple of Forbes article’s from Mark Murphy that I really enjoyed.  I’ve said this often, but it certainly can’t hurt to reiterate it again … whether you chose Product Management or had it inadvertently thrust upon you, you are called to be a leader.  It’s one of the reasons I love the role so much.  So anything that touches upon leadership styles, traits, or success factors will always catch my attention.

In the first article, Leadership Styles are Often Why CEOs Get Fired, the author describes the following four leadership styles:

The End is Near …

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adjustments, challenge, focus, Goals, momentum, planning, prize

Well, maybe.  But that isn’t the end I was thinking about. As the month of September draws in and the end of the year looms over the horizon,  the end is in sight but the outcome may not yet be decided.

If we were to think about it from the context of a sporting event, we are entering the 4th quarter (football), the 7th inning stretch (baseball), the last 15 minutes of the game (soccer). Perhaps you have another example that fits. Regardless, either the game plan has gone well, and it is time to fortify the troops … or adjustments are necessary in order to make one final push towards changing the outcome.

And with that comes a question … how are you doing?