Wow, John McCain. As expert advisors who show leaders how diverse strong interests can debate and generate the best solutions to complex challenges and drive value-creation, we’re impressed. You called out the “win/lose victory-at-all-costs” defensive thinking trap and appealed to your colleagues to use diverse perspectives and creative tension and come up with something better. You knew that some zealots [...]
The bias against creativity is one of the 12 defensive traps that leaders have to overcome, if they want fresh bold ingenious high-potential people to bring forward a stream of fresh bold ingenious high-potential ideas. This article from Quartz says creativity is often perceived as a threat, even by the executives who want it. When the C-suite is threatened by [...]
With all of the volatile complex ambiguities facing anyone in business today, no wonder it takes resilience - grit - tenacity - optimism - courage to turn adversity into opportunity and thrive. But what happens when a leader’s Courage is so overpowering that it stifles the initiative - confidence - enthusiasm of coworkers or subordinates? And inhibits rather than vitalizes innovation? According to [...]
If you're "only" VP or Director (in American, not British, management levels) - it's tempting to look up the chain of command and ask, "Are our C-level leaders doing all they can to create an innovation culture?" And the answer, most of the time, is "No." So - what can you do if you're handed an assignment that asks you [...]
Groupthink. Maybe we should call it "the Theranos trap" - when a high-power hard-charging visioning true-believer CEO refuses to listen to risk assessments - and assumes her best hopes are validated because high-status marquis-value celebrities who know little about the business are WOW'd by the vision. Check out this post - and the article from the Washington Post about "the [...]
Case study: You be the coach - with this new Supply Chain Director This post is a real-life case we faced - working with the Global Supply Chain Director in a global pharma R&D corporation. The client's identity is disguised, of course. But the facts are real. After reading the facts, you be the coach - and offer your suggestions to [...]
Google's Project Aristotle asked why some of their innovation teams soar and others sputter. Their results were reported in the New York Times. According to Google's research, innovation teams that soar create "psychological safety" for each other. But "safety" doesn't mean settling for what's easy, routine, average. With "psychological safety," teams that soar PowerUP imagination, initiative, take-charge can-do possibility thinking and Courage - [...]
How do you deliver the message, so your Next Year Performance Discussion (and Last Year Retrospective) is an ennobling, uplifting motivating call to action? The 5 PowerUP Steps give you a formula that will keep the dialogue positive even if there are though messages to take to heart. Here's how: 1. AIM high. Define success in the coming year. Show your [...]
People. Everyone knows human capital is your biggest asset — and your biggest risk factor. So why not take a deeper dive into "people issues" when you do your due diligence -- to know where the "soft spots" are in the team and whether they are growth needs, fixer-uppers or show stoppers? For investors — a PowerUP assessment can tell if an existing management team has [...]
There's no bigger joy than a CXO's … …when s/he sees his/her team lift their game and PowerUP Brilliance™. That's the magic of a culture-shaping innovation workshop. In just a few intense hours, we take a fresh look at aggressive KPIs, new standards of accountable care, lagging revenue targets, technical hurdles. It's always a thrill when a smart team shifts [...]
