ullysses

From Ullysses by James Joyce:

"A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are portals of discovery."

Buy Ullysses by James Joyce from Amazon.

mission strategy

The message is clear. If you wish to get ahead, you must think and speak strategically. Organizations need a leader who is a strategist; one who serves.

We all contribute operational expertise towards a mission, vision, and value. To possess a strategic plan and way of thinking helps analyze and manage interaction, benchmarking, and system set-up.

Shifting your mindset from functional to strategic is a transformation that helps share vision and position.

Thinking strategically helps to see every part of the organization. This helps build strategic insight. More focus on business, market, and industry is needed to develop a strategic point of view.

MISSION STATEMENT

General Eisenhower

During WWII, the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) had a mission statement. It was the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. That mission statement did not change. SHAEF didn't waver or waffle from it. The Allies' goal was crystal clear, from General Dwight David Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of SHAEF, to the children collecting old bicycle tires in America for recycling, and everyone in between. The mission statement was short and simple, easy to remember, and projected a vision which was unforgettable.

KNOW YOUR INDUSTRY

SHAEF knew how many men, tanks, planes, trucks, cannon, guns...... well, you got the picture.
Do you know your picture? If not... paint one. Know your inventory. Know the managers who are in charge of the various departments. Learn and know this now! You can't be a strategic thinker and develop a plan without knowing your resources.

Know the market and anticipate where the general, overall market is going. Have a general idea of technological changes and how these advances are being applied. Don't be shortsighted.

TALK STRATEGY

 Your mission and vision won't get you very far if you can't talk the talk. Develop a network of those you feel  are valuable to your organization. We've all heard the value of networking. Put what you've heard into practice. Networking should be ongoing. If you need outside sources, find these folks with LinkedIn and other Social Media platforms. Don't do networking as an afterthought. Instead, develop a network that will serve you as a means of support.

Talk with decision-makers who have a firm grasp of command and control throughout their own organizations. Groom mentor relationships by volunteering your expertise to keep the conservations going. Make this part of your plan and keep to it.

CONCLUSION

There is a leadership component in all of us. We all have a vision. Perhaps at times it's a bit blurry, but that's where your mission statement comes into play. Becoming a strategic thinker allows you to share the mission, vision, and value of your organization from within and without to customers, prospects, and colleagues.

7 questions to end the week

I found this on Facebook from Emily Thomas and I wanted to post.

1. OBSERVE - What pleasant surprises did I discover?
2. REFLECT - What lesson did my work teach me that I can build upon next week?
3. FOCUS - Are my short-term efforts aligned with my long-term goals?
4. BE PRODUCTIVE - What could I spent more or less time doing?
5. HAVE COURAGE - How did fear and uncertainty affect what I did and didn't do?
6. CLEANSE - What mental clutter can I clear?
7. BEGIN ANEW - What is the first logical step for next week?

BJXBNTREAJD4 (this is a claim token)

network performance

"Doing more with less" is beyond cliche'. Challenges include shrinking budgets and increasing workloads. A good rule is that an 18% productivity improvement in performace is needed. Performance enablers are needed. This productivity increase can be achieved with a new approach through collaboration across networks.

The traditional view of successful performance focuses on assignment completion. That's it, nothing more. This view is changing. Goals are more complex with the rise of social media. Discussions and decisions are increasingly driven by data. Workflow requires more collaboration across a variety of platforms, both internal and external. Contributions require capitalization of networks. Their is a strong attraction of network performance and organizational success.

To achieve gains in productivity, better management of network performance is needed. In practice, effective network performers consistently demonstrate behaviors that contribute to their networks. This includes, but is not limited to, harnessing great ideas from other parts of the organization and applying them to one's own work. Opinions and feedback are two other categories in this application.

Concentrate on network performance. Identify connections and cultivate relationships by identifying influencers. They help with priorities.

Only through a new perspective of network performance will we be able to achieve better productivity performance.