The new plan won't do what the last one didn't.
And the answer isn't another planning session or another strategic planning consultant with a new slide deck. I write weekly about what's actually standing in the way — subscribe if it's useful.
Chris Wiersma
The 52nd Rep
Sam Parr emailed Tim Westergren 52 times to get him to speak at an event. Most people would view the first 3 silences as rejection, never mind 51.
I don't know Sam. But a pattern I've noticed with dozens of leaders leaves me confident his 52
The Crisis You Shouldn't Resolve
There's a type of crisis you should leave to do its work.
Not the strategic initiative that isn't moving. That's your problem to solve, and fast.
The one to let stand: when your team is not meeting its own standards (beyond yours), and they
The emotional system of the leader
Do you protect your people? There's an unexpected downside.
And it serves as an example of the hidden effects of a leader's emotion system on their team.
Protecting your team looks and feels noble. You act as a buffer and shock absorber so they don'
Who Says No to You?
Last week the CEO of McDonald's posted himself tasting his own burger and called it 'product' in a video gone viral for all the wrong reasons. Three million people watched. His team didn't save him from himself. Would yours save you from you?
No
Goals Can Be a Form of Self-Harassment
Naval Ravikant said a goal is a contract to be unhappy with yourself until you get what you want.
I'd say it's a contract to be unhappy with yourself until you get what you think you want.
Productivity culture treats goals as inert instruments. Tools you
There Are Two Kinds of Adults
The first kind is still relating to the world through permission structures.
Looking for validation. Avoiding criticism. Seeking agreement. Explaining their decisions and positions before anyone asks. Treating their complaints like coupons with real redemption value.
They're not immature. They're running a system that made perfect
You Don't Repeat What Worked. You Repeat What Survived.
There's a reason you lead the way you do. A reason you run the meetings you run, have the conversations you have, avoid the ones you avoid.
You think it's because of what worked.
It isn't.
It's because of what survived.
Alfred
Accountability Isn't Enforcement. It's Belief.
The most common reason leaders avoid accountability conversations: it feels unkind.
It isn't. The opposite is true.
Accountability says: I see you as a force. I take seriously that you meant it when you took your seat on this team. I believe you're capable of what
The B Player Problem Isn't Performance. It's Game Theory.
B players aren't underperformers. They're competitors.
Not competitors against your rivals. Competitors against your team.
Every organization runs on an agreed-upon game: here's the goal, here are the rules, here's what winning looks like. A players play that game. C players fail