Strategy

During the course of a Leadership Program many of the participants ask how to conduct effective meetings and even more groan under the impact of the meetings on their calendars.  This weeks reading, Eight Steps to More Effective Meetings which can be found at <http://www.cio.com/article/141300/Eight_Steps_to_More_Effective_Meetings>, provides some concrete data on the negative impact of ineffective meetings […]

As it nears the end of the year, it seems appropriate for the Tuesday Reading to turn to the future.  In “A Roadmap for IT Leadership and the Next Ten Years” <http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/EQM0626.pdf> Tim Chester, CIO at Texas A&M at Qatar, argues that the future requires that CIOs and other IT leaders become technology advocates and […]

In “Situational Awareness 101”, John Baldoni points out that “A sound sense of situational awareness is vital to leadership decision making.  A leader must know context (what is happening), circumstance (what has happened) and consequence (what could happen) at all times.” In this short piece, Baldoni talks about context, circumstance, and consequence and concludes “Ignoring […]

In “Making Strategy That Sticks“, Susan Cramm points out that all too often when we develop a strategy, we focus on getting the right content rather than getting the right commitment.  She writes:  ”The acid test of strategy is whether it informs and constrains decision making by compelling leaders to align their functional goals and day-to-day […]

Most of us cringe at the thought of saying no.  We think that it is not an option.  We don’t want to disappoint.  Etc.  However, saying yes to everything creates an untenable position for you and for your organization.  Esther Derby in “The Benefits of No” gives us an essential management tool, a three-point approach to saying no: 1.  Start by […]

We all experience pressure, almost daily.  Sometimes the pressure is generated by the schedule and expectations we set for ourselves;  sometimes from the expectations others place on us.  Rick Brenner’s Chaco Canyon had three (short) columns last December that focused on several aspects of pressure associated with projects: Communications and Expectations  <http://www.chacocanyon.com/pointlookout/061213.shtml> The Unexpected <http://www.chacocanyon.com/pointlookout/061220.shtml> […]

Today, we welcome the participants in Group VI of the IT Leaders Program who are starting their first workshop.  Welcome to the Tuesday Readings, gleanings from my readings that I hope you might find interesting, provocative, and otherwise useful. Today’s reading is a review of Eric Bonabeau’s “Hunch Engine” which appeared in a recent Technology […]

In the April 1, 2006 issue of Business 2.0, Jeffrey Pfeffer,  Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford’s Graduate School of  Business, argues that it pays to invest in leaders who blame  themselves when things go wrong.  His focus is on CEOs and he uses  the metric of stock prices in his argument.   However, the […]

  I really enjoy reading Rick Brenner who writes the email newsletter  from Chaco Canyon Consulting.  The last two issues of the newsletter  has focused on tactics for tough times:        http://www.ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/060201.shtml        http://www.ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/060208.shtml   In these two pieces Rick focuses on problem solving:      – What problem as I […]

In the February 23rd and the March 16th issues of the Point Lookout email newsletter, Rich Brenner and the staff at Chaco Canyon Consulting <http://www.ChacoCanyon.com> present two helpful pieces on “Recovering Time.”  Given that all of us scramble to find more time for our work, I thought that I would share their ideas with you. […]