Blog Posts
Happy Thanksgiving
I am a Canadian, I live in Canada and I celebrate Thanksgiving sometime in October, like all Canadians. But this year, Karen and I decided to spend the month of
What About All The Other Projects?
(originally published March, 2018) I ran into a colleague recently who talked about a disastrous office relocation. It seems that everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Knowing my
Get Out of the Weeds
One of the most difficult things we have to do as leaders, is to get out of the weeds. We’ve grown up in the subject matter space where we have
Who is your CSO?
If you want to get from here to there, successfully, you need a CSO – a Chief Strategy Officer. When my friend, Mona Mitchell, and I wrote the book “7
3 Ways to Say Thank You
(First posted October, 2017) When was the last time you said, ‘thank you’ unexpectedly to someone on your team? This past weekend was our Canadian Thanksgiving – a wonderful time
Are You Thinking Effectively?
Are you thinking efficiently or effectively? This is a question I heard posed by my friend, Wissam Al-Hussaini, during his delivery of one of the three modules in a new
Agile Strategy Execution
I was working with an organization last week who has a great mantra or mission statement: “Small enough to be agile, large enough to be global”. I loved it. I
Are you Emotionally Fit to Lead?
(originally published May, 2015) Forbes.com recently published an article called “5 Ways To Transform Yourself Into A Leader” in which it suggested that leaders need emotional fitness. How true. We
Are You Thinking Strategically About Your Career?
I have a family member who some people suggest is rushing her career. It seems that when you talk to her and ask her about her job, you not only
It Takes a Village
If you are a Canadian, you are most likely sharing in the excitement recently of the first Canadian to win a grand slam tennis tournament. As a country, we are
Honesty and Integrity – Key Elements for All Managers and Leaders
“The first step toward greatness is to be honest.”
Are You Ready to Bail?
Many will tell you that the sign of a great leader is a positive attitude, regardless of what is thrown at them. I prefer to suggest that the sign of
Are You a Champion of Change?
Back in 2016, a friend of mine, Roy Osing, wrote an article entitled: “10 Things Smart Business People Do”. In it, he suggests that smart business people, or leaders, make
Do You Have Strong Plan Around Your Strategy?
We don’t often see a good plan in place for an organizational strategy. This is wrong. Unfortunately, the execution part of strategic planning is either mismanaged or missed completely. The
Leaders are Committed – Day in and Day Out
I have been trying to think about leadership without commitment. I can’t. They simply cannot exist without each other.
Are Your People Excited About the Future of Your Organization?
Strategic Planning is not easy. But all of the effort, time and resources you put in to its creation can go right in to the junk pile if you do
Do You Have Someone Who Actually Owns the Plan?
Over the summer, I have been reviewing some of the Clear Signals That Your Strategic Plan Is Going to Fail from a book I recently published with Mona Mitchell called
Does Your Strategic Plan Extend Out Too Far?
Most organizations are still planning too far out. In this day and age, realistically, how can we? With so many changes to our markets, politics and competitive playing field, we
Do You Know What Strategy Success Mean?
The plan looks good and you seem to have all the pieces in place, but when asked, no one seems to know what success will actually look or sound and
Does Your Strategic Plan have a Scorecard?
Happy Summer, 2019! In this first week of July, I continue my summer series on the seven Clear Signals That Your Strategic Plan Is Going to Fail and what you
Clear Signals That Your Strategic Plan Is Going to Fail
You have created a strong team, held a very productive, off-site strategic planning session, documented all the ideas and plans, published the official “Strategic Plan” and told everyone about it
An Historic Day for Canada
The Toronto Raptors have just won the 2019 NBA Championship and today (June 17, 2019) ‘we’ celebrated. The ‘we’ is Canada. They really are Canada’s team. People flooded into downtown
Project Managers Need to Step It Up
I struggled with the title of this week’s post. The title I chose could just as easily be: So, What Else Do You Have? Good Project Managers are a Dime
Leaders Build Relationships
“…astute leaders tune in to others’ feelings and predispositions, and acknowledge different opinions from a variety of sources. Now (when you may not necessarily need it) is the time to
The Key to Strategic Planning is Execution Planning
Originally posted June 10, 2015 “(Strategy) execution is the great unaddressed issue in the business world today. Its absence is the single biggest obstacle to success and the cause of
Great Leaders Build Great Leaders
…when measuring great leadership, the best of the best, to me, are the ones who are building great leaders in their path.
Thank You PMI Volunteers
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Don’t Burn That Bridge!
How do you blow up a bridge in under 10 seconds? You let your emotions get the best of you. It is so easy. You get really upset and steam
What is Your First Step After the Strategic Plan is Published?
Every great organization conducts a strategic planning session, of some sort, every few years, which produces a strategic plan that, in the majority of cases, goes no where. Forbes.com suggests
They Should Have Called it the PLI!
Every once in a while, I get the urge to connect with the Project Management Institute (PMI) Board of Directors to suggest a name change. Project Leadership Institute (PLI) In