Dirty little secret
Most managers cannot articulate the objective, scope and advantage of their business in a simple statement. If they can't, neither can anyone else.
Simplicity (value statement) yet again?
Adding value is, well valuable. But to who? Is adding value possibly our own way of justifying our presence at the meeting or while on the task force? Is it our desire to add our two cents or to prove we still have a functioning brain? Perhaps that's the source of our non-simplistic approaches. Perhaps all of us have such a strong desire to be "us," to be "valuable" that we start mucking up the initiative or campaign or brand. Maybe this whole "simplicity" thing can be accomplished by just sitting there...letting the natural progression of the project take it's course.
I remember a Peter Drucker quote from school;
"We spend a lot of time teaching leaders what to do. We don't spend enough time teaching leaders what to stop. Half the leaders I have met don't need to learn what do, they need to learn what to stop."
I remember a Peter Drucker quote from school;
"We spend a lot of time teaching leaders what to do. We don't spend enough time teaching leaders what to stop. Half the leaders I have met don't need to learn what do, they need to learn what to stop."
Realistically depressed?
Classic line from a book I burned through on a Newark flight;
"From What got you here won't get you there" by Marshall Goldsmith
If we had a complete grip on reality, seeing every situation for exactly what it is, we wouldn't get out of bed in the morning! After all, the most realistic people in our society are the chronically depressed."
"From What got you here won't get you there" by Marshall Goldsmith
If we had a complete grip on reality, seeing every situation for exactly what it is, we wouldn't get out of bed in the morning! After all, the most realistic people in our society are the chronically depressed."
Simplicity again!
Jason Fried, founder of 37signals:
"You don’t need to outdo the competition. It’s expensive and defensive. Underdo your competition. We need more simplicity and clarity."
"You don’t need to outdo the competition. It’s expensive and defensive. Underdo your competition. We need more simplicity and clarity."
Take away to move ahead?
I was playing catch-up on my reading and ran across this;
"Perfection is achieved not when you have nothing more to add,
but when you have nothing left to take away."
Of course I failed to credit who said it but the point hit me in terms of our economic situation. Budget reductions force decisions to "reduce" which makes most managers "cut." OK, I'm doing that- your doing that but like the surgeons scalpel, it needs to be done with precise direction to insure a healthy outcome. "Taking away" in order to simplify is a much more tactful way of reducing budgets and becoming more streamlined.
(And even making it easier on our customers in the meantime.)
"Perfection is achieved not when you have nothing more to add,
but when you have nothing left to take away."
Of course I failed to credit who said it but the point hit me in terms of our economic situation. Budget reductions force decisions to "reduce" which makes most managers "cut." OK, I'm doing that- your doing that but like the surgeons scalpel, it needs to be done with precise direction to insure a healthy outcome. "Taking away" in order to simplify is a much more tactful way of reducing budgets and becoming more streamlined.
(And even making it easier on our customers in the meantime.)
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