Free from Business

I was looking at Gartner’s new HR Strategy on a Page template. It is tidy; it separates the current state, future state, assumptions and initiatives. It asks HR leaders to identify business scenarios before developing the strategy. Then the business largely disappears. The final page asks for four to seven metrics describing the current and… Read More Free from Business

Strategy (Sponsored by…)

Apparently the new playbook is: “Don’t do the hard work of strategy. Just rebrand your favourite tools and policies as one.” Somehow: Calling something a strategy doesn’t make it one – please note the people who published a new strategy last week. It landed in my inbox and it was underwhelming in the extreme. If… Read More Strategy (Sponsored by…)

More landlord, less tenant

Seth Godin writes about landlords and tenants. Tenants trade labour. Landlords build assets that grow when they’re not in the room. Most of my work has been rented out: consulting hours, delivery, presence, etc.. But the shift is happening. Podcasts, frameworks, the podcast learning festival, a new book outline I’m working on. These are assets.… Read More More landlord, less tenant

Balancing Vision and Credibility

I’ve been working one-to-one with someone recently and we found ourselves reflecting on what makes strategic leadership different from direction and management. It comes down to clarity. Absolute clarity on the vision for the organisation and for your own area of specialism. But here’s the tension. Many leaders worry more about their specialism than the… Read More Balancing Vision and Credibility

What you want or what you need?

I had a simply superb conversation this week with a group of people talking about demand and need. I won’t go into details, but the idea that demand and need from the top aren’t what is identified through the organisation creates tensions between strategies. This is endemic within the learning space too. We’re learning professionals… Read More What you want or what you need?