Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Gratitude and Limits

There was a time when I was an up and comer. I was on the career fast track, and I knew it. I didn't take it for granted; in fact, quite the opposite was true. At times I couldn't believe my good fortune and was grateful for every moment. I tried to soak up every experience like a sponge...constantly learning was essential.

Fast forward to middle-aged me.

New Again
I'm now two months into a whole new phase of my career journey. A new role, with a fabulous company that I've been connected to for almost twenty years. I'm leveraging every part of my previous thirty years of experience and pouring it into my new world.

It's intense, and thrilling, and scary, and incredibly exciting.

Building new things isn't for everyone. For me, building new things from the foundations of greatness is just about the best job in the world. 

Trusting the Vision
The path isn't exactly clear. 
There isn't a published roadmap in place yet. 
There isn't even an "end of the story" written in advance (because we now see that we have no limits.)

But we're taking something really good, and we're turning it into something incredible. How many of us have that opportunity? 

I don't take my new life for granted either; and still can't believe that good fortune has continued to follow me.


How About You
What path are you on? Are you fired up each day, whether or not the day is mapped out perfectly? Or, are you more comfortable playing it safe. Safe is okay.

If you're into just being...okay.

I think you should get fired up instead.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

Monday, February 10, 2020

I Have Plans

They say that battle plans always look good until the battle starts. Then everything changes in an instant regardless of what was expected. I think the same can be true in business.

Strategic Plans, Business Plans, Marketing Plans
I like plans. I like investing the time to think through what should happen, what could happen, and how I might manage the unexpected things that probably will pop up. It's almost a competition for me. 

How can I beat the system and help my organization win?

I love to win.

However, what happens when all of that thinking and planning and communicating launches and...guess what...things don't go as planned? For real.

That is the real test, right? Table top exercises are helpful, but woefully inadequate compared to the real thing. When leaders find the courage to authorize new initiatives and put them into practice, that is when the heart rate goes up and the rush of the world of business kicks in.

At least it does for me.

I love the rush.

Fear of Failure = Leadership Failure
If plans can be so effective, even if we need to be nimble enough to adjust them on the fly, why don't more leaders invest the time to build them? Why do organizations play the "we're so busy we don't have time to build a strategy" card?

I don't get it.


Plans work. Excuses don't.



How About You
What is standing in your way to think through what needs to be done in your organization? Candidly, developing effective plans takes much longer than you think. But the results will also be better, right?

That's how planning works. 

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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