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Leadership Inspirations – Only Change is Constant

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“Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”

Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900)

Irish poet and playwright

“Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago.”

Bernard Berenson (1865 – 1959)

American art historian

Seemingly harsh words, but consider…

Consistency is an interesting word. We often think of it as a desirable quality but that really depends on one’s perspective. In today’s highly competitive business environment, product and service quality are continually advancing. Therefore, companies consistently meeting or exceeding customer expectations are necessarily improving; making their performance anything but consistent. Likewise, employees exhibiting seemingly consistent performance relative to the market are really improving while those whose performance is truly consistent fall behind.

So for the successful, the only true constant is change.

Strategic Planning Best Practice 14 – Never Be Satisfied

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Profits are up, costs are down, the market is yours. Time to sit back and enjoy life, right? Wrong!

From Kmart to Walmart, Compaq to Dell, history is replete with examples of organizations that had once dominated a market segment only to become insignificant or non-existent. Today’s fast moving, highly competitive marketplace demands a relentless pursuit of organizational improvement. What is low cost and efficient today is likely to become expensive and unwieldy tomorrow given the rapid pace of technological advances, process innovation, and the entry of tenacious entrepreneurs into the marketplace from around the globe. For organization leaders, this means never being satisfied with the status quo and always seeking to identify ways to improve the organization’s performance.

How Hungry Should an Organization Be?

Executives and managers frequently ask: How high should we set our goals?

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Tactical Execution Best Practice 2 – Illustrated Priority Systems

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StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Best Practice Article“If everything is important, then nothing is.”
Original Author Unknown

Leaders struggle with the prioritization decision of how to most optimally deploy their limited resources so to return the most organizational value. Professionals also face this choice with respect to allotting their own time and attention to the myriad of assignments before them.

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Management Observation Program – Introduction

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StrategyDriven Management Observation Program Introduction“You can expect only what you inspect.”
Military Axiom

Managers are responsible for establishing and reinforcing work priorities and standards of performance. Reinforcing expectations requires interaction with subordinates and is most effective when the manager personally observes, rather than reading or hearing about, performance behaviors and immediately provides feedback. Lasting individual and organization performance improvement occurs through ongoing reassessment supported by performance data collection, documentation, and analysis used to reinforce desired individual and group behaviors, modify counterproductive behaviors, and eliminate organizational barriers to performance excellence. A well designed and executed management observation program serves as an effective performance improvement and reinforcement tool to achieve these long-term performance changes.

The management observation program is an integral part of an organization’s evaluation and control program. By design, these observation programs compel direct management observation of and feedback on work performed while supporting the performance data collection and analysis needed to realize lasting, beneficial personnel and organizational performance change. They typically consist of predefined performance assessment scorecards, a data collection and analysis application, key performance indicators and reports, and a governing procedure. This procedure defines required observation topics, frequencies, and quality standards as well as documentation and feedback protocols and data analysis, trend reporting, and corrective action; all aligned to support achievement of organizational values and mission goals.

Focus of the Management Observation Program Category

Articles in this category will focus on the underlying principles, best practices, and warning flags associated with establishing and executing a management observation program aligned with organizational values and mission goals that effectively modifies personnel and organizational behaviors for the achievement of superior results. The following articles, podcasts, documents, and resources cover those topics critical to a robust management observation program.

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Best Practices

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Management and Leadership Best Practice 1 – Open, Honest, Timely Communications during Times of Uncertainty

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StrategyDriven Management and Leadership Article | Business Communications | Timely CommunicationsPeople, regardless of their position, experience anxiety relative to the unknown. Is my job secure? Will I be able to provide for myself and my loved ones? and Will I lose my home? are just a few of the questions that preoccupy the minds of all organization members during uncertain times. Like all distractions, these self survival fears steal time and focus from the job at hand, negatively impacting productivity. Unlike other distractions, these fears are nearly impossible to ignore and will only subside once conditions become more predictable. Therefore, it is critically important that the manager-leader minimize the magnitude and duration of uncertainty by providing subordinates with as much clarifying information as possible. The manager must communicate.

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