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Vision and Leadership

October 11, 2011 in Leadership, Miscellaneous, Operations & Strategy with 17 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Leadership and VisionVisioning for CEOs is a topic that I often address on this blog. I don’t do so in an attempt to torture you with redundant thought, but rather because I believe it is a message that is often taken far too lightly by chief executives. A CEO’s ability to perform effectively is so closely tied to their ability to form a clearly articulated vision, evangelize the vision and then to execute on their vision, that no real discussion on executive leadership should take place without an emphasis on vision. Put simply, I believe that leadership absent vision is a train-wreck waiting to happen. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that you simply cannot decouple the two without causing an organizational implosion. In today’s post I’m going to share a few brief thoughts on visioning for CEOs, as well as providing you with the thoughts of others on the importance of vision…

This is a preview of Vision and Leadership. Read the full post (831 words, 1 image, estimated 3:19 mins reading time)


 

10 Steps to Creating a Talent Advantage

August 29, 2011 in Leadership, Miscellaneous, Talent Management with 5 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Creating a talent advantage begins with smart hiring. That said, it never ceases to amaze me at the number of people who are charged with hiring who possess absolutely no skill at doing so. While I rarely meet a CEO who is completely comfortable with how HR administers the hiring process, most of them still seem to accept the status quo…”Who should do the hiring?” is a question more CEOs should spend time pondering. Here’s the thing; Anyone can make a hire, but not all hires are good hires. Smart leaders do more than just hire smart people – they have a smart hiring process and/or methodology. In today’s post I’ll share my philosophy on the best way to insure you hire tier-one talent.

This is a preview of 10 Steps to Creating a Talent Advantage. Read the full post (1650 words, 1 image, estimated 6:36 mins reading time)


 

When Humor Isn’t So Funny

July 25, 2011 in Communications, Leadership, Miscellaneous with 28 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

The old saying ”everybody loves a comedian” has regretfully given birth to a time where everybody thinks they’re a comedian. Sadly, what many have failed to realize is the old saying noted above was meant to be sarcastic…We all love good humor, but the truth is all humor is not good. The timely and appropriate use of humor is an asset to any leader. Likewise, distasteful or inappropriately timed humor can be a significant liability.  As a leader it’s quite easy to get a laugh - your title will virtually guarantee it. Therefore it’s important for leaders to become skilled at distinguishing the difference between a compliant chuckle and a sincere chortle. Good humor can bring people closer, but poor humor can be one of the strongest repellents known to man.  

This is a preview of When Humor Isn’t So Funny. Read the full post (583 words, 1 image, estimated 2:20 mins reading time)


 

How to Hire & Manage Consultants

June 29, 2011 in Miscellaneous, Operations & Strategy with 13 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

While you might be lucky enough to survive in business with little or no advice from others, you will certainly not maximize your potential for success by doing so. All CEOs and entrepreneurs need advice in a wide variety of constantly changing areas…That said, I’m always somewhat perplexed as to why people hire certain professionals. The nature of my business is that I often succeed other advisors who have failed in their assignments, and I have witnessed first hand the carnage that can occur from unsuccessful engagements/implementations with third party professionals. So, in today’s post I’ll share some thoughts on both selecting and managing outside advisors…

This is a preview of How to Hire & Manage Consultants. Read the full post (1549 words, 1 image, estimated 6:12 mins reading time)


 

Addiction Marketing

March 11, 2011 in Branding & Identity, Mediums & Markets, Miscellaneous with 1 Comment

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

“Addiction Marketing” is a phrase I started using a few years back while waiting in line for my drink at Starbucks. I was observing the mass of people who seemed almost desperate for their daily (if not more frequent) fix of caffeine. It was at that moment I realized the real power of one of Starbucks key business drivers, if not their most critical business driver – Starbucks sells products that cater to peoples addictive tendencies. What Starbucks has done better than many other addictive marketers is that they also make it cool and trendy to succumb to your addiction. In today’s blog post I’ll examine addiction as a key success factor in business.

This is a preview of Addiction Marketing. Read the full post (995 words, 1 image, estimated 3:59 mins reading time)


 

Leadership & Mental Models

February 14, 2011 in Miscellaneous, Success with 10 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

When was the last time you conducted an honest evaluation of your thought life? Does the integrity and quality of your thinking position you for success, or does your tendency toward intellectually dishonest rationalizations and justifications doom you to a life of chaos and failure? Few things in life are as important as your thought life, so in today’s post I’ll examine the two things most likely to impact your thinking: 1.) what you think about, and; 2.) how you think about it. In the text that follows I’ll discuss mental models and critical thinking.

This is a preview of Leadership & Mental Models. Read the full post (872 words, 1 image, estimated 3:29 mins reading time)


 

Lessons from Ronald Reagan

February 7, 2011 in Leadership, Miscellaneous, Rants with 10 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

While scrutiny of any two-term president will reveal mistakes and flaws, the simple fact is that there are great lessons to be learned from Ronald Reagan. Few would argue that Presdient Reagan was a true statesman, and most would also concur he was one of the greatest U.S. Presidents of the modern era. He overcame critics who thought him to be little more than an actor who was in over his head to bring down the Berlin Wall and end the Cold War, to create one of the most robust economies in recent history, and he even survived a point-blank assassination attempt. Virtually every politician, republicans and democrats alike, have fondly referred to him on many occasions. Our 40th President served during a challenging time in history, but he overcame even the harshest of critics and adversaries in proving himself as a determined and capable leader.

This is a preview of Lessons from Ronald Reagan. Read the full post (658 words, estimated 2:38 mins reading time)


 

Entrepreneur, CEO or Both?

January 21, 2011 in Leadership, Miscellaneous, Operations & Strategy with 11 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth 

Entrepreneur, CEO or Both?Entrepreneur, CEO or Both? Which hat, or hats do you wear? CEO…that title sounds good doesn’t it? Okay, so you founded the company, but does that mean you should also be the chief executive? Did you bestow the title upon yourself simply because you had the authority to do so, or are you the right person for the job? Perhaps you were the right person for the job initially, but has the company outgrown your management ability? As the founder, can you, or should you, attempt to grow with the company? What does a CEO really do anyway? In today’s post I’ll assess what it takes to be an effective CEO and you can decide for yourself if you have what it takes to get the job done.

This is a preview of Entrepreneur, CEO or Both?. Read the full post (914 words, 1 image, estimated 3:39 mins reading time)


 

Success vs. Significance

December 21, 2010 in Leadership, Miscellaneous, Rants, Success with 15 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth 

As one year draws to a close and another begins, I can think of no better time to dust off an old post and ask you to ponder the difference between success and 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. Harsh? Perhaps, but I’ll let you be the judge. In today’s post I’ll attempt to clearly lay out the differences between success and significance, and why you’ll be better off setting your sites on the latter and not the former…

This is a preview of Success vs. Significance. Read the full post (1193 words, 1 image, estimated 4:46 mins reading time)


 

To Blog or Not to Blog?

December 7, 2010 in Blogging & Social Media, Branding & Identity, Mediums & Markets, Miscellaneous, Operations & Strategy, Public Relations, Technology with 12 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

I think you’d be shocked at how many people still struggle with the “to blog or not to blog” dilemma. Most of you who have been following this blog know that I’ve been an a strong evangelist of social media, and perhaps even more so of blogging for several years now. So why is it that so many people still seem paralyzed when it comes to taking the plunge? Let’s look at the numbers…While the numbers vary depending on which source you believe, the total number of blogs on the Internet is generally thought to be in the range of 200 million blogs. By any category analysis or analytical standard blogging has obviously developed into a powerful communication medium. However the question remains, do the numbers in-and-of-themselves mean that blogging is right for everyone?

This is a preview of To Blog or Not to Blog?. Read the full post (1238 words, 1 image, estimated 4:57 mins reading time)


 
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