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…you have to know when to hold your data and when to fold ’em. You have to know when to argue with data. Yet you have to be able to argue with the data…
|
117 |
 |
Constructively debating tough issues and getting somewhere is only possible when people can speak their minds without fear of punishment.
|
117 |
 |
With all this rhetoric about how management, is about change, the fact is that we managers loathe change, especially when it involves us.
|
123 |
 |
Getting through a strategic inflection point involves confusion, uncertainty and disorder, both on a personal level if you are in management and on a strategic level for the enterprise as a whole.
|
123 |
 |
Business people are not just managers; they are also human. They have emotions, and a lot of the emotions are tied up in the identity and well-being of their business.
|
123 |
 |
The replacement of corporate heads if far more motivated by the need to bring in someone who is not invested in the past than to get somebody who is a better manager or a better leader in other ways.
|
127 |
 |
When the environment changes in such a way as to render the old skills and strengths less relevant, we almost instinctively cling to our past. We refuse to acknowledge changes around us…
|
127 |
 |
The dilemma is that you can’t suddenly start experimenting when you realize you’re in trouble unless you’ve been experimenting all along. It’s too late to do it once things have changed in your core business.
|
130 |
 |
Ideally, the fear of a new environment sneaking up on us should keep us on our toes. Our sense of urgency should be aided by our judgment, instincts and observations that have been honed by decades spent in the business world.
|
133 |
 |
During a strategic inflection point, management continually has to refine its conception of the strategic map of the industry… But mental maps are awfully forgiving of ambiguity. You must force yourself to commit your thoughts to paper.
|
135 |
