leadership

“Write for five minutes about yourself.”

That was all.  They were the only instructions we were given.  

Then we sat together in small groups and read to each other what we had written.  I sat with the faculty members who were part of this Catholic healthcare system.  They called the five minutes of writing and subsequent sharing a reflection assignment.

I was on my way this past Sunday morning to pick up my weekly batch of donuts.  Later in the day I made sure I stopped at the store on my way home from an In ‘n Out burger to get my potato chips and pint of ice cream.  Call it my Sunday ritual.

It’s part of how I stay fit and trim.  In the past few months by eating all that garbage I’ve lost three belt loops on my pants (that’s about 4 ½ inches)

Imagine you were your competition. Now – as your competition – create a plan to put yourselves out of business.

This may not seem like the question you would want to be asking yourself. One goal of every organization is at the least to stay in business, if not even thrive.

Because we never do is exactly why I recently asked a leadership team to answer that exact question.

After I asked the question, there was some nervous laughter in the room. Was I serious?? 

Listen in to a far-reaching conversation I recently had with Nancy Badore on the role of women in the workplace. I first met Nancy when she was leading the culture change efforts in Ford's Diversified Products Operations in the early to mid '80s. She went on to also found and lead the company's Executive Development Center that serves the 2,000 highest-ranking Ford executives worldwide.

Today's latest management best sellers list the most important work leaders need to be doing. So did yesterday's. Leaders themselves have the same lists:

Create a compelling vision

Communicate this vision throughout the organization

Engage people in creating their collective future

....the known list goes on....