Auld Lang Syne
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
As a business person this is absolutely my favorite time of the year. It’s the bittersweet time where one year draws to an end as a new year looms eminent. I’ve come to see something entrepreneurially sacred about time spent reflecting upon lessons learned, while also experiencing the great anticipation of implementing next year’s strategic plan. This is the time of year where an honest evaluation positions you for success, or where intellectually dishonest rationalizations and justifications can simply carry failures forward into the new year. My challenge to you as we move into 2010 is to make sure that you’ve been brutally honest about your performance in 2009. It is critical that you don’t carry mistakes forward, that you don’t extend failed initiatives which should have died long ago, and that you don’t allow your pride and ego to impede right thinking and right decisioning. Knowingly turning a blind eye toward rational thinking and reality is a fools gambit that will cost you dearly. I urge you not to participate in the folly of self-delusion. I encourage you to be sincere in your analysis and make the most of your opportunities in 2010. Happy New Year!
It’s clearly a tough call to sort through the myriad of leadership blogs and distill them down to a list of the “Top 10 Leadership Blogs of 2009.” While I’m sure there are those that will disagree with my choices, I spend a great deal of time keeping up with all things leadership, and have developed a list of personal favorites over time. They may not reflect the most politically correct thinkers, but they do in my opinion offer some of the best thinking on leadership you’ll find anywhere on the Blogosphere. If you’re interested in leadership, I would highly recommend you give my list of the Top 10 Leadership Blogs of 2009 a try:
My experience with most executives and entrepreneurs is that they are totally committed to and focused on success. As a result, many of them tend to have a major blind-spot (translation: weakness) when it comes to the anticipation of set-backs. While this is understandable, it is nonetheless naive, and it constitutes a major flaw in the business logic of most strategic plans. This is so much the case that the most often overlooked aspect of strategic planning is adequately addressing contingencies as part of the planning process. As you get ready to usher in 2010, my suggestion is to take one final look back at your planning and assure that you’ve anticipated all the ways in which things can go wrong, and what you’ll do when the inevitable happens…
As one year ends and another begins, I can think of no better time to ponder the difference between success and significance. Success vs. Significance…some would say that any discussion along this topic line is nothing more than a semantical debate. However, it is my opinion that those who hold this view truly don’t understand the difference between the two, and are simply attempting to blur lines in order to feel better about themselves. In today’s post I’ll attempt to clearly lay out the differences between success and significance, and where your sites should be set…
My question is this: Is your intellect and asset or liability? All one has to do is watch a very bright person defend their position to understand what I’m driving at with today’s post. Observing intelligent people lecture, spin, posture, position, cajole, rationalize, or justify their beliefs in order to “get the win” is often times entertaining, but it can also be exceedingly frustrating. I’ve come across more than a few self-proclaimed “intelligent” people who believe that their intellectual acuity is far superior to the discernment ability of their peers and co-workers. Not only are these intellectual giants wrong, but sadly, by the time they awaken to a state of reality it is already too late. In today’s post I’ll share the keys to leveraging your intellectual assets as opposed to having your intelligence serve as a barrier to your success… 
Confidence vs. Arrogance…is it merely a question of semantics? I think not. While confidence can be mistaken for arrogance, and vice-versa, they are clearly not interchangeable terms. In today’s post I’ll describe the power that resides with the truly confident, as contrasted with self-destructive characteristics that plague the arrogant…
While today’s post is short, it truly merits the attention of anyone still grappling with 2010 budget concerns. I’m going to share something with you that you might not want to hear, and quite frankly, something that will likely send your CFO straight into apoplexy. You don’t grow a business by shrinking it. The key to corporate growth is not to fall into decline; hopefully not by default, but certainly not by design. If your 2010 plan is one that involves constriction, contraction, shrinkage or retraction, you should note that this is not what your clients and prospects are looking for.
Thought Leadership…What is a thought leader, and what does thought leadership mean in today’s business world? As much as some people wish it wasn’t so, a thought leader is not someone who simply restates someone else’s views and positions. Furthermore, beyond uniqueness of thought, a true thought leader’s positions also challenge established norms and conventions. Moreover, the true litmus test for a thought leader is when their unique ideas are implemented in the marketplace, they tend to create disruptive innovation, and often change the way we view the world. In today’s post I’ll examine the subject of thought leadership in an attempt to separate fact from fiction
CEOs; are you feared or respected? Hint…being feared as a CEO is not a badge of honor to be sought after. It’s one thing for employees to have a healthy respect for you, but quite another to be in fear of you. Remember that respect is earned, and fear is imposed. Fear based motivations don’t instill loyalty, create trust, build morale, inspire creativity, attract talent, or drive innovation. If you’re a CEO who has created a fear based culture I can guarantee you two things: 1.) your employees won’t give you their best, and; 2.) they will cut-and-run at the first opportunity that comes their way. If as a CEO you believe that instilling fear in your employees is a good thing, you may be a tyrannical bully, but you are certainly not an effective leader. In today’s post I’ll share 5 ways to tell if your employees fear you…