PrimeGenesis Blog
Ron Krueck’s Vision of a More Welcoming Michigan Avenue Facade in Chicago
“Vision” is one of those overused words that means different things to different people. Leaders are expected to have a vision. Sometimes it’s not clear where they are supposed to get their visions from.
Ron Krueck needed a way to solve his client’s problem. His vision did not come to him in a dream. Instead, he had to build it up step-by-step through a process of experimenting and failing, and then doing it all over again.
Don’t think your vision needs to come about instantaneously. Some visions need time and space to percolate. Perhaps most importantly, remember that the key is not the vision that you see as the leader, but the vision you help others see. Leadership is all about inspiring and enabling others. A compelling vision is a critical part of an inspiring imperative.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s Public Lambasting of the Bank of Canada
. Identify Target Audiences
There is rarely one single target audience. Instead, it’s important to influence the target directly and to influence their influencers. Beyond conversing with bank regulators, Dimon also knew he had to connect with the public to influence the regulators. As a result, he took his argument public to do so.
2. Craft an Overarching Message and Key Communication Points
Great communication pivots off of a central message. Great examples of this include, “We’re going to be ranked one or two or we’re going to get out,” one of Jack Welch’s early messages at General Electric, and “A car in every driveway,” Henry Ford’s overarching message deployed in the early twentieth century. Dimon has a relentless focus on truth as a way to manage risk. The overarching message anchors the communication plan. Your communications points both flow from this message and reinforce it.
3. Choose the Most Appropriate Media
The explosion of new social media forums was the main catalyst for us removing what we wrote about communications in the first two editions of our book, “ The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan ,” and starting fresh in the third edition. Social media should make you re-think everything you know about where to communicate. If you don’t believe me, there are a couple of Middle Eastern ex-dictators who can reinforce the point.
This is why the choice is not about which media to deploy and not deploy, but when to deploy them. Ignoring any media is merely ceding your ability to influence the audience engaging with that media. The conversations will always continue with or without you.
Fear, Pride, Beaurocracy
I'm on the last legs of a series of workshops in Asia that have taken me to China, Malaysia, Singapore, and India over a relatively brief period of time. All of these countries are doing relatively well as barriers of fear, pride, and beaurocracy are...
Steve Jobs and the Power of a Passionate Focus
All my learning as a leader myself, from working with leaders going into new roles, and from interviewing leaders for this column, makes me believe that
focusing on one burning imperative rallies the team
delivering one early win gives the team confidence
driving one over-riding message improves communication
There is real power in focusing as much of your energy on the one thing you care most about. Figure out what’s important. Manage the distractions. Focus.
The New Leader’s Journal: 100-day recap
Tomorrow is 100 days. Thought I’d pause to recap what I’ve accomplished so far. Got a head start. Having a plan in advance made a big difference. I knew where I was going. Additionally, I’m still getting good feedback on those pre-start conversations. My...
Despite Bleak Housing Market, Toll Brothers CEO Isn’t Panicking
ut yourself in Doug Yearley’s shoes in November 2009. You’ve just been named EVP on the way to becoming CEO of luxury home builder Toll Brothers, a company that lost $750 million in the year that just ended due to accounting write downs. You’re entering the fifth year of a recession in your industry. Your core revenues were down 44 percent versus the prior year, and 75 percent versus the peak a few years before. If there was ever an organization that required significant change, this was it. Right?
Wrong.
Yearley had to engage this culture and his colleagues in the right context. Doug knew three things as he transitioned into his role as the second CEO ever at the company:
The organization was strong. It had cash in the bank and solid processes in place, including a long-standing management review every Monday evening.
He was an integral part of that organization. Yearley had been there for 20 years and steadily progressed as a leader. At the point he took over from Robert Toll as CEO in June 2010, he had spent 800 Monday evenings with Robert on those management calls.
He knew what he could control, and what he could not control, and was confident that Toll would come through the dark days and emerge stronger.
The New Leader’s Journal: Personnel Adjustment
Did not see that coming. Susan (my boss’ boss) is moving to a new role in the organization as a special assistant to the CEO. (I smell an acquisition.) Now my boss (Jack), the commercial director, is reporting directly to the CEO. This feels like a major change with...
True Value Hardware Deploys Three Keys to Successful Culture Change
Everything communicates. You can either make choices in advance about what and how you’re going to communicate or react to what others do. It is important to discover your own message and be clear on your platform for change, vision, and call to action before you start trying to inspire others. It will evolve as you learn, but you can’t lead unless you have a starting point to help focus those learning plans. Identify your target audiences. Craft and leverage your core message and master narrative. Monitor and adjust as appropriate on an ongoing basis.
The lesson to learn from True Value’s transformation is the power of a consistent message and the importance of driving that message all the way through the organization over and over again over time. Six years in, Lyle Heidemann is still treating every day like the first day of the rest of his career.
The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan 3rd Ed. Now Available!
THE NEW LEADER’S 100-DAY ACTION PLAN – Bradt, Check, Pedraza (John Wiley & Sons) How to take charge, build your team, and get immediate results. A step-by-step plan for every leader in a new role (with downloadable worksheets). Request exec. summary...
The New Leader’s Journal: Quarterly meeting cadence
We’ve figured out our meeting cadence: Weekly milestone updates (1 hour each – people live or by phone) Monthly deep dive into one topic (1/2 day – people in sessions that are appropriate for them) Quarterly business reviews (full day, all live). Additionally, each...