Contextual Thinking for Leaders
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
My advice today is simple – don’t get too comfortable with your leadership style. When a leader becomes too comfortable in any given area, their decisioning becomes at risk. One size fits all leadership styles restrict effectiveness, alienate staff & peers, and limit the ability of a company to thrive in ever changing markets. Companies led by traditional executives whose leadership style hasn’t kept pace with current practices will be left behind by those who understand the need to apply situational velocity within a contextual framework. The bottom line is that your ability as a leader to adapt your style based on situation and context will have a direct correlation to the level of success you achieve in today’s business world.
How disruptive is your business model? While much has been written about corporate vision, mission, process, leadership, strategy, branding and a variety of other business practices, it is the engineering of these practices to be disruptive that maximizes opportunities. Without a disruptive focus you are merely building your business model on a “me too” platform of mediocrity. Few things are more critical to your efforts in increasing your revenue growth and corporate sustainability than understanding the value of disruptive innovation. So, in today’s post I’ll examine the power of disruption as a key business driver…
To restructure or not to restructure? That is the question that many a business is forced to ask at some point during their life cycle. The mere discussion of corporate reengineering can cause fear, anxiety, and in some cases even panic. This is so much the case that some CEOs will avoid restructuring initiatives at all costs. There are even some business theorists that warn against undertaking complex restructurings because of the great risks involved. My question is this…since when have fear and avoidance become prerequisites for success as a CEO? Give me real leaders who possess courage, vision, and a bias toward action, and spare me the timidity of mediocre managers posing as leaders. In today’s post I’ll examine the benefits of, and the need for corporate reengineering…
So, does design really matter? Let me make my position very clear…design absolutely matters. Whether it is aesthetic, functional, creative, process, innovative, intellectual, technical or applicational…design matters. While I have heard many a professional downplay the value of design, it has been my experience that most business people who espouse this opinion are commenting on something outside of their domain expertise in an attempt to justify a competing agenda or a position of ignorance. While this position may seem a bit harsh, it is nonetheless true. In today’s blog post I’ll examine why design matters.
Batting cleanup in this week’s all-star lineup of guest bloggers is one of the most accomplished storytellers I know; Scott McKain. Not only is Scott brilliant in his ability to entertain you with wonderfully constructed word pictures, but he does so in a truly thought provoking fashion that leaves you both inspired and informed. Scott is the author of three #1 business bestsellers, including his latest: “Collapse of Distinction; Stand Out & Move Up While Your Competition Fails” — as well as “ALL Business is Show Business” and “What Customers REALLY Want.” Scott also has the distinction of being selected for membership in the legendary Speakers Roundtable and the Professional Speakers Hall of Fame, and he has appeared on platforms in all 50 states and 13 countries. I highly recommend 
As a CEO Coach I can share that expectation management is no small matter for CEOs. The art and science behind making commitments and managing expectations has always been a critical skill set for CEOs to master. In fact, understanding how to come out on the right-side of the expectation curve can often be the difference between average performers and corporate superstars. This is evidenced by the fact that the consulting industry has zeroed in on the importance of this issue such that it has evolved into an emerging discipline known as ”Promise Management”. In this blog post I’ll discuss the value of promise management as a discipline.
Social Media 3.0…Okay, I said it and I’m sticking to it. It is time for Social Networking tools, applications and platforms to live up to their potential and make the iterative leap to next generation Social Networking, or “Social Media 3.0″ if you will…While I have no intention of disputing the commercial success of YouTube (Google purchased it for $1.65 Billion dollars when it was only a 9-month old company), FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, or any number of other organizations that have monetized on their first mover or early adopter advantage, Social Media is still in its infancy. For Social Networking to make the next leap in maturation it will need to move beyond advertising driven consumer models, and evolve to an enterprise class business platform. In today’s post I’ll examine what needs to happen for Social Media to go 3.0…