Three Assumptions Leaders Should Question

John Baldoni, HarvardBusiness.org, wrote in response to Gary Hamel's "Moon Shots for Management" that he felt it was appropriate to question some underlying management assumptions. He identifies three:

1. It is important for organizations to set firm goals. Unreached goals can frustrate an organization rather than helping it to succeed. Maurice Schweitzer
2. Quick wins are essential to managers in transition. This has been demonstrated in a study by Mark Van Burren and Todd Salferstone to do more harm than good.
3. Senior leaders believe in their CEOs. A study by Booz & Company found that 46% of senior managers surveyed doubted their CEOs ability to navigate the current crisis.

I believe organizations operating in today's environment need to have a clear understanding of what business they are in and beyond that a simple set of guiding principles can be enough to move day-to-day decisions.

Its interesting how often the winner of a race is not in the lead during the early stages. To me that relates to quick wins. You can use up your resources and capacity focusing on early wins when you will need them for the end run.

The lack of belief in senior managers comes from the lack of collaborative leadership, even though it has been shown to be effective. There is still an overwhelming tendency of CEOs to think they can be the hero leader, guiding their troops out of harms way. Information is hidden. Authority is withheld. The easiest way to see this in an organization is to watch what happens when the CEO is not available. If the organization stalls it will be because no one but the CEO is able to make the decisions that would keep it moving forward. Can an organization like that be successful in today's environment?

Programs Need More FURI

I'm writing this blog as a way to capture my thoughts in an organized way. If you want to follow what I'm thinking about you are welcome. FURI stands for Focus, Urgency, Reach, and Impact. For years I have worked in the delivery of programs funded, either by generous donations from private citizens or by taxes. I believe that these are both appropriate ways for some programs to be funded. On the other hand I see much too much waste in the delivery of these programs. FURI came out of my experiences with the wasteful programs. They make me mad. I believe there is a solution and that is to be sure that all programs have Focus, Urgency, Reach, and Impact. This blog will explore my experiences in moving in that direction. It is not and will not be a straight and narrow journey. It is a worthy destination.