In The Beginning I have the privilege of working with a couple of business incubators and several start-up company founders. The founders are sometimes surprised when I suggest that they must pay attention to leadership now, not later. They are even more surprised and usually totally unprepared to talk about their fundamental organizing principles. It “all” starts with fundamental organizing principles (FOPs). …
Real World: Fresh out of engineering school and excited to begin my new job, I enthusiastically started work on test equipment design for a digital fuel-control. One of the more memorable experiences was working with the technician assigned to our team. He was (is?) a true craftsman. He built the circuit-boards we designed in a neat, logical, and efficient manner. …
Vision: It’s the vision thing. You know, that BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal). That Yonder Star. Trying to put that feeling, emotion and passion into a short meaningful statement is like grasping at smoke. You can’t ever quite catch it. Yet it is critical to do so to make sure your organization knows why it exists. I believe that it …
Almost all the leadership topics of the day wind up talking about “clarity” at one point or another. Why is that? I noticed this phenomenon while reading such diverse topics as “employee engagement,” “vision and purpose statements,” “execution culture,” “developing leaders,” “executive coaching” and “what motivates employees.” The common thread I noticed was clarity. The online dictionary defines clarity as: …
Gino Wickman has written a very clear, practical and implementable how to book for getting a grip on your business. He introduces his EOS or Entrepreneurial Operating System to us early on then methodically goes through the meaning and implementation of the system. There are six major components to his EOS: VISION Successful business owners not only have compelling visions …