A System's Thinking Approach® to the United State's Fiscal Situation
"DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU'RE GOING TO DO" - Organizations don't pay much attention to what we say. Organizations pay intense attention to what we do and the examples we set, particularly if the actions are inconsistent with the words. Any inconsistency is corrosive. I hear what you say, I read what you write, I believe what you do."
"YOU ARE EXPECTED TO BE COMPETENT" - Organizations expect their leaders to be competent and act with integrity. (I mean integrity in the broadest sense of the word to include team play and respect shown to subordinates.)"
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Keep the quotes above in mind as you read today's article.
First, let us acknowledge that driving a large organization (or system) of the dimensions of a nation the size of the USA requires extraordinary leadership under any circumstances. Furthermore, that leadership must be shared!
Large businesses rely on a cadre of executives and a board of directors to ensure a sustainable direction of the organization. Those that are recognized as delivering sustained, long-term high performance invariably demonstrate a high capacity to share leadership.
We can also note they share a common vision and common values. Without the behavioral glue provided by the shared values, even achieving the shared vision may be compromised.
To be effective on a sustained basis, organizations, and governments, rely on structures and processes to move initiatives along and keep people informed on their progress and changes.
Read more
Eric can be reached at eric.denniston@hainescentre.com
5 Obstacles to Human Performance
In his article, Human Potental Untangled (Training & Development
Magazine), Kevin J. Sensenig lists five obstacles that hinder employee
performance and ways to resolve them. Often a manager may incorrectly
assume the person is unmotivated when in reality, there may be other
circumstnaces at play.
Obstacle 1 - Not knowing what to do.
If the employee hasn't received sufficient training during new employee
orientation, or from his/her supervisor about the new position or task,
then the work may not get done simply because the employee doesn't know
what to do.
Read more about this.
Enterprisewide Change
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Employee Satisfaction
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Organizational Health:
Capacity to Learn, Adapt, Align
The ability of your organization to align, execute, and renew itself faster than your competitors can--is just as important as focusing on the traditional drivers of business performance.
Organizational health is about adapting to the present and shaping the future faster and better than the competition.
Healthy organizations don't merely learn to adjust themselves to their current context or to challenges that lie just ahead; they create a capacity to learn and keep changing over time.
Here's a great video on the subject
201 Ways to Cut Costs
From the book by Alan Landers,First Step Talent Strategies
Cost saving ideas can be big and save millions or small and save thousands. When you get your whole organization involved the total amount can be quite substantial.
Even little ideas can save money. Here are two examples that are the type that normally come up when a company looks for ways to cut costs. One comes from a seed company and the other from a mortgage lender, both had to do with paper. These were submitted by employees who took a look at their surroundings and thought there were better ways to do
things.
The seed company changed toilet paper in its bathrooms from a high-end brand to a generic brand from Costco. They saved $1,800 a year.
The mortgage lender changed the paper napkins they used in the break rooms of all of their branches across the country. They saved over $1,700 a year.
Interested in more ideas to cut costs? Click here for the eBook, 201 Ways to Cut Costs in Your Organization.
Haines Centre for Strategic Management
Micro Strategic Planning using the Systems Thinking Approach® ...Based on over 50 years of scientific research.
For small business owners, nonprofit boards, major functional area teams, project / work group teams.
When you don't have the time or staff to develop a comprehensive, detailed plan, this one-day Micro Strategic Planning exercise will help you get there. Click here for more information.
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Articles Inside
Systems Thinking Tip
5 Obstacles to Performance
Relax and Get Inspired
Organizational Health
201 Cost-Cutting Ideas
Connect Strategy & Action
Upcoming Events
Business Solutions
Social Media Tips
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Learn to think, plan and act with strategic intent. click here
Enterprisewide Software Solution
Take a Break from the Routine and Get Inspired
Take a vacation and get inspired. That's the message in a recent Wall Street Journal article, Relax. Have Fun. Get Inspired.
The article describes how getting away from the office to clear your mind can actually be good for business - in this case, it helped three people start their own businesses.
We know how important it is to have balance in our lives. All work and no play is asking for trouble. Focusing on other things, like rock climbing, sailing, skiing, travelling, or even preparing gourmet meals, helps to clear the mind and often brings to the surface those niggling ideas you may have in the back of your mind. As it did for the people mentioned in the article.
So if you find yourself stuck with a project or task, take a break and do something else that uses another part of the brain. Spending too much time using one type of mental energy can be draining, while allowing yourself time to use other parts of your mental energy, actually helps to restore balance, leading to inspiration.
Enterprise Wide Software Solution
Looking for a software tool to connect your strategies and actions? Y-Change's Enterprise Strategy Management tool might just be the solution!
This is a real-time performance management software application that translates corporate strategy into aligned objectives, initiatives, metrics, portfolios and projects.
It tracks activities and actions of individual, departmental and division initiatives that support the organizational strategies.
Social Media Tips
Privacy the New Issue Between Facebook and Google
Facebook's new privacy rules are launching just after Google launched Google+. In less than a month Google+ gained more than 25 million users.
While Facebook says it's not doing this in direct response to Google+, the timing is uncanny.The changes will give users more control over what information they share with whom - something Google+ does well.
Read more about this here.
Manage your Business in Less Than 10 Minutes a Week
For small and medium-sized businesses, time and focus are valuable commodities. How often do you wish as a business owner that you had a simple, easy way to know exactly where you stand financially from week to week?
What if you had a tool that compared your weekly sales to total expenses, so you could make immediate adjustments to reduce costs and increase revenues?
The Three Page Management system is just such a tool.
Click here to request a demo.
Association for Strategic Planning
San Diego's 2050 Regional Transportation Plan
with Muggs Stoll, SANDAG
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Planning on Shifting Sands
with Randy Frisch, San Diego Business Journal
Tuesday, November 15
Courtyard Spectrum Center
Click to register
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