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How to Lead from the Future
Every company wants to be more innovative in order to stay relevant, to be successful, to bring in the best talent, and to help the world become a better place. But innovation takes planning, effort, focus, and intentionality. So what is keeping companies from being innovative and how do we fix that? To find out, I spoke with Mark Johnson who co-founded the consulting for Innosight with Clayton M. Christensen in 2000. Mark also has a new book out called Lead From the Future which was the topic of our conversation. Barriers to Breakthrough Innovation… Read more
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Building Consensus Around Difficult Strategic Decisions
Building consensus around difficult strategic decisions is one of the toughest challenges senior leaders face today. With high-stakes issues clouded by preconceived notions, conflicting data, and deeply held beliefs, traditional meetings often create more friction than alignment. At The Willis Organization, we help leadership teams cut through this complexity and turn disagreement into productive dialogue and actionable outcomes. Senior leaders today have the unenviable task of making decisions around difficult strategic issues, where people come into discussions with preconceived notions, and where data can be skewed to support pre-existing perspectives. We experience this regularly in our… Read more
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The Real Issue with Strategic Planning: The Relationship Between Strategy And Leadership
Business leaders are conducting annual planning in full swing…. Many coaches and strategists are amping up their content in support of sound approaches to strategic planning, and I recently had an interaction that reminded me why many strategies struggle to succeed. Some would say it’s because of leadership; others might say it’s because of strategy. Perhaps the real issue is that we consider the two to be binary in our strategic planning process. The current planning season is not new for most business leaders. In fact, it has become so routine for many that they… Read more
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4 Powerful Growth Strategies (+ Innovative Examples)
Learn growth strategy from the innovative growth teams behind some of today’s most successful companies. Mailchimp CEO and co-founder Ben Chestnut has frequently told the story of an all-hands meeting with his team in 2014. People were raising their hands and asking, “So what’s the strategy?” Chestnut brushed it off, replying, “We don’t need no stinking strategy—we’ve got this!” The employees of Mailchimp were not impressed with this cavalier approach. Chestnut reflected on this reaction after the meeting and realized the company actually needed a business growth strategy—some type of plan or goal. And the… Read more
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How Sellers Can Close Deals in an Economic Downturn
During an economic downturn, sales organizations can continue to close deals by improving their sales process, sales skills and seller engagement. When deals slow down and buyers start to hesitate, a good seller knows it’s time to take action – and the signs are there. Though we’re just at the start of an economic downturn, quota attainment and win rates are down by 10% already. The average deal size has dropped by 13% and almost half (46%) of organizations are practicing more price discounting. What does this data tell us? Buyers no longer have a… Read more
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Keys to Strategic Leadership
Key 1: Determining Strategic Direction The Nature of Strategic Direction Determining strategic direction involves specifying the vision and the strategies to achieve this vision over time. The strategic direction is framed within the context of the conditions (i.e., opportunities and threats) that the strategic leadership team expects their firm to face in roughly the next three to five years. The strategic direction could include a host of actions such as entering new international markets and developing a set of new suppliers to add to the firm’s value chain. The ideal long-term strategic direction has two parts:… Read more
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Six Paradoxes of Leadership
The greatest challenge leaders face is managing a successful organization today and simultaneously adapting that organization for the future. This is true of both profitable businesses and public institutions serving stakeholders well — only by creating success in the present do you buy the right to exist in the future you’re envisioning. To amplify this challenge, I have observed six paradoxes which I think are becoming increasingly important for leaders to manage in addition. These are not the only paradoxes leaders face, but I believe they are the ones most urgent in today’s context and… Read more
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Adapting Your Sales Approach in a Downturn
There has been plenty of debate over [how to maintain company success in a downturn] Regardless of the technical definitions and economic perspectives, many organizations see challenging headwinds on the horizon. Even if companies aren’t feeling the economic pinch yet, they will be more skittish when it comes to spending when news cycles predict doom and gloom. As customers become more reticent to buy, your sales approach must change. Right now is the time to get your sales organization ready to compete. This may be a chance to gain market share on a competitor, or… Read more
