Curated News on Strategy Execution

This is a simple post on the current saga going on between Aaron Rogers and the Green Bay Packers organization. The author draws an analogy to the fact that the Packers may have the best roster (even better if Rogers is part of it), but it won’t matter if their culture is actually in disarray. They won’t be a winning team. The conclusion is that leadership needs to be cultural in nature. I like the constant reminder.

This article focuses on radically overhauling your organization’s customer experience (CX) to achieve market success. It speaks to the need to leverage human-centered design experts to do a deep dive into all of the interaction points along the customer journey (coined the “Midas Touch”). The authors also talk to the likely need to consolidate resources from other incremental CX improvement projects to provide ample support to do so. I really like this blank page design approach to meeting customer needs, but I also understand the organizational hurdles and inertia to take on such revolutionary change efforts.

This article discusses the need to fully understand segment costs as the simplicity of a small business turns into the complexity of a midsize business with a myriad of products, customers, etc. This knowledge of costs moves from simple intuition to data-backed evidence. With these numbers as a backdrop, many decisions and/or considerations can be discussed – with the facts being on the wall. I love this picture of “prepared minds” coming around a challenge to discuss a path forward. Great article for those of us that are nerdy about having a shared knowledge of the actuals, so you can discuss what’s possible!

This post pits the idea of dialogic “what is possible” versus that of diagnostic “what is true” (which typically means – true to me – within the constructs of my understanding). I continue to spend more and more time thinking about how to reframe my thinking to always be about what’s possible, or possibly true, as opposed to framing within what I think is true. It’s very hard for me, but it has helped with my marriage, my kids, and my work! The post goes on to explore the needed attributes (generativity, narrative, and emergence) of change conversations from this perspective.

Two claps for this article! I totally agree that organizational culture is built on a set of behaviors/values that are applauded and rewarded over time. The reinforcing mechanism of celebration turns these actions taken by individuals into actions that everyone is copying and owning. The leader has the opportunity to identify and celebrate those activities that support the purpose and strategy of the organization and, thereby, influence what becomes the culture of the organization.

This article does a great job of summarizing some of the key risks and mitigation efforts to enable what the authors call a “resilient supply chain”. The article also talks (although only briefly) about how resource planning methods can be used to analyze risk and identify mitigation opportunities for early signs of break points (definitely read the sidebar on the medical device company!).

I’m intrigued by the concept of “job sharing” – the idea of two part-time, but overlapping, employees doing one job. Seems like a great way to combine complementary on-the-job skills and/or personalities(!) while also providing flexibility to staff. This article discusses how Swiss companies have made a common practice out of what the author says was an idea that originated in the US!? As a leader, it is worth understanding job sharing. It seems to hold merit as employees look for balance in their work and non-work lives.