New Year - Artful Thinkers

January 12, 2017June 1, 2017

Decide to Be Resolute in 2017

Business leaders are faced with a myriad of opportunities and choices every day. It is estimated that on average the C-suite will get 150-300 emails per day vying for some decision-making attention about an opportunity. Each opportunity requires some logical reasoning and prioritization.

From the outside world, we are flooded daily with proposals and suggestions from eager vendors and sales people to help us do more and be better at everything. Internally, we are presented opportunities to evaluate new ideas, review solutions and provide recommendations to tackle the complexities within the business.

Ignoring it all is not the solution. The emails and calls keep coming. There is no doubt that both outside and inside opportunities need assessing. Equally, all perspectives are important. Today, the speed of innovation and change require leaders to be in constant evaluation of ideas and solutions or you will be left behind!

Therein lies the challenge. Constant assessing is time. Nothing is simple and time is our most valuable resource. Each opportunity is often laced with all kinds of variables related to resources, timelines, spending requirements and business needs. It can be overwhelming and stagnating. Yet, the business requires ongoing opportunity assessment to progress.

Insert decision-maker! The solution is to make time to make decisions.

What is critical in the evaluation of any opportunity is that ultimately a decision is made. Great business leaders decide. Do it, revise it, throw it away – just decide. Endless evaluation kills momentum.

The best leaders eliminate the clutter, clear the noise, create the pathway and direct us forward. They lead the way for others to go do. Implement and execute. Without decision-making, we can all drown in opportunity and accomplish nothing.

Anyone in sales will be able to tell stories about their encounters with people and organizations that couldn’t make a decision. Two weeks grows to six month and two-year sales cycles. It’s an immediate recipe for stress and heartburn, even failure! As well, we may have experienced in a our personal lives. OK, we likely have all experienced it with a friend or family member. Have you have been shopping with someone that can’t make a decision. Exhausting!

It happens in companies too. Lack of decisions lead to stagnation and chaos, at worst. Right or wrong, the failure to decide is the greatest failure of all. It leaves everyone in flux and wanting direction. We go nowhere, we don’t progress.

In 2017, imagine what we can accomplish by being resolute. Making clear decisions every day. It is not about the goal or resolution, as we like to call it this time of year. It is about deciding how to get to the goal. Businesses grow from ingesting new approaches and ways to get things done. Take it in, set the target, decide and then go! Resolute.

Be determined and purposeful. The best leaders in the world are resolved, adamant and unwavering. It doesn’t mean they are “right” all the time, they just decide. They empower the organization to fail and learn. They simply give context to doing. Resolute.

Respect in business is earned. It is earned by those that are steadfast, unfaltering, and persistent. 2017 is time to commit to being tenacious and strong-willed, no matter the objective or goal. Decide and do. Resolute.

It’s not the resolution that will make 2017 a great new year, it is being resolute. Decide now. Be resolute.

Jamie

January 5, 2017June 1, 2017

Leading Transformation in the New Year

Executives around the world are locking down budgets, business plans and growth strategies that will lead them into a new year with confidence and clarity. Or, at least that is how the process is supposed to work as we exit another year.

The reality is we are often distracted from planning our future, as we are buried in the real-time business demands of “now” for closing out the year, assessing our performance and measuring the success of our current year stated business goals. Our future is ahead, not behind us. We need to look ahead.

The actions we take today to change how we do things in the next year really deserves our full attention. Transformation requires prioritization.

There are many businesses who have great stories to share about the past year, highlighting lists of remarkable accomplishments in growth and opportunity. They have expanded into new markets, launched new products, added new channels for business development. The simple recipe for those businesses will be to double down and do more of the same. We’ve all heard it, GROW MORE! Those that look at how they might have done better over the past year will be focused on clarified business plans that pivot from where they have been to a future path of prosperity.

One thing is certain, whether looking to exploit past success or tearing down the obstacles that led to failure, transformation is imperative for any business in the new year.

Transformation is more than updated goals or repeating the past, it is doing things differently. It is tackling “big” things that others can’t and won’t do.

Transformation is change. It is new coordinates, new variables, new operations and new formulas for success. It is what leads to great. As marketers, we often hear about digital transformation. The way in which we consume information, the speed of the Internet, the Internet of Things, all driving behaviors and pushing businesses to behave differently with their consumers, partners, employees and even regulatory agencies. Yet, transformation applies much more broadly today than just digital. It applies to everything.

Change will happen. The upcoming 12 months will be loaded with transformation for most people, some of which they will have no control or input. It is taking place all around us. Point to the many global examples ripe with political change, where we will see instances of transformation in a new year that can and will change our existence in the world as we know it today. It will likely change how business is conducted globally.

It’s also personal. We’ve all rehearsed transformation to some degree. Personal and professional transformation will be veiled in the guise of declarations of resolutions in the next few days. We all need something to work on and often will state so “out loud” to be held accountable for our changing ways.

What about business transformation? How will businesses change in the new year to capitalize on the new, inspire the potential consumer, foster team development and capture the imagination of dreamers through vision and execution? Well, businesses like people, have to do things differently.

There are five signs a business is ready to lead through transformation.

A focus on globalization will transform any business, as it is not just about selling products beyond a geographic region. It is thoughtfully reaching out through cultural connectivity to orchestrate engagement, learn and drive meaningful (and profitable) relationships around the world. It is understanding the global economy and embracing differences that are ripe in worldwide opportunity through relative experiences. A bit of advice on this point, rely on experts to guide you through the market, cultural and language complexities if you really want to take advantage of transformation through globalization.
Acquiring talent with new insights, skills and competencies that do more than align to a job description will transform a business. Hiring smart and passionate people to join the “team” to challenge the status quo, rule outside the governing boxes and raise the ceiling on what can be done by thinking and ACTING differently is transforming. These individuals will bring experiences and richness of ideas that can expand the possibilities when embraced by an environment of collaboration and exchange.
Diversity of thought and leadership that spans across all functions and roles is encouraged and celebrated by businesses that lead through transformation. Create an environment for bringing people together through idea generation, expanding digital and remote work spaces and systematically rewarding those for participation in solving problems and offering ways for capitalizing on change.
Go beyond innovation, as it is an overused word in the lexicon of business strategies. Innovation is survival today, part of the life blood of existence as a business. Leading in innovation requires transformation, going beyond what has been done in the past and exploring the possibilities through new approaches, processes, technology, thinking and knowledge sharing capabilities. Innovation should be flowing throughout the organization and fundamental to how a business directs and drives transformation. Leaders must ask every team member, “How are you transforming what you do today to take us into the future?”
Predictive analytics must be a basis for transformation, using smart data to guide decisions and empower actions with a bet on the future. Reporting is old, tiring and can paralyze an organization with constant reviews of the past. Using data as intelligence to guide decision-making and focus on outcomes that are in front of the business will free businesses from spending all their time looking in the rear view mirror. Let data push you forward.

Change is constant. Change is here. Transformation is critical to success.

Executives and business leaders that are thinking about their global journey, pushing the boundaries on talent acquisition and diversity of thought, living innovation and predicting the future with accuracy are the leaders of tomorrow and beyond. They will transform the world, doing more and doing things differently.

How are you transforming your business?

Jamie Glass, President + CMO at Artful Thinkers, a sales and marketing consulting company.

December 31, 2012December 31, 2012

2013 is Here to Stay

Another New Year. We made it, despite the ominous predictions of the Mayans and challenges that seemed insurmountable. We have a whole year to put four new numbers at the end of every month and day — 2013 is here to stay.

As the hours tick away and we realize there is no turning back to a year gone by, we may spend time reflecting on the past for all the greatness or demands that became part of our personal history. How much time should we reflect on what was and what might of been?

We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and others as we leap ahead into the first day of a new year. Though the date is only a marker in time, it brings significance to recall where we have been and where we want to go. We are conditioned to set goals, broadcast resolutions, make commitments. We are all lined up in business to start our annual sprint toward revenue targets, profits and sales quotas. Departments and executives lay out the vision and business plan. We stand and cheer as we round the corner and “pass go” to do it all again. We give ourselves and others another year to achieve great success.

Yet it can be hard to forget some of our nagging challenges and failures of the past 365 days. The reflection of what we did not accomplish can cloud our view of what lies ahead. Obsessive reflection deters progress. Could have, would have, should have really needs to be can, will and shall in the coming year.

We are all moving forward, together! The earth is rotating and time is passing. We can not stop our momentum. Some may want to slow the inevitable; however, there is not a time machine to take us back. If we continually reflect on the better days of the past, we will miss the turns we need to take in the future. We will be left behind. It happens to very successful businesses and leaders as they get mired in their own greatness and fail to see what lies ahead.

We must focus on what can get done, what we will accomplish in the New Year. Historical performance gives guidelines of the best path forward. At every fork, we need to turn to previous decisions and analyze how well we executed on each task or goal to determine the reality of which turn we take in the future. We don’t drive always looking in the rear view mirror. Watching what is behind, does not allow us to focus on what’s ahead — in life or in business.

Memories serve great purpose. Predicting the future requires history. It is important to use past performance, decisions, data, research to better predict future outcomes. It does not mean we should get buried in our past or mesmerized by our own reflection so that we fail to see the path forward.

We should all take time to reflect – briefly. Use our past to build our map to the future. Know our goals. It’s time to move ahead. The 2012 bus is leaving the station. The calendar tells us so.

As we move forward into 2013 with celebratory optimism, it is up to everyone to make choices that make us better and more prosperous. Hope burns eternal. So, clink that glass half full and let the confetti fly! One thing is absolute, 2013 is here to stay.

Happy New Year!

Jamie Glass, CMO & President of Artful Thinkers and Managing Director of Sales & Marketing Practice at CKS Advisors.

January 2, 2012

Be Resolute and Ban Resolutions

Do you remember your declared resolutions of 2011? Did you succeed in keeping your resolution for the entire year? If so, congratulations! The fact remains, if you did keep your resolution for 365 days, you are one of a very small percentage of those that actually set a goal and achieved it.

I typically do not set out the year with a new resolution. I can only recall setting a goal to read a book a week a few years ago, and yes, I did accomplish my goal.

According to a research study sponsored by the Ford Foundation, 67% of the population has a general idea of what they want; however, they do not have any plans for how to get it. The same study suggests that only 3% of people say they achieve their goals.

Why compete with a 97% likelihood of failure? It is not very encouraging, to say the least. If we do succeed, we can at a minimum say we accomplished something most people will not. I believe declaring annual resolutions is setting a plan for failure on the first day of a new year. Our odds of staying “resolved” for the entire year aren’t in our favor. In fact, they are quite dismal. Time for a change!

Let’s ban the annual ritual of “resolving” goals. Instead, we simply need to be more resolute! Random House Dictionary defines resolute as firmly resolved or determined; set in purpose or opinion and characterized by firmness and determination, as the temper,spirit, actions.

In 2012, let’s all be more resolute! Imagine what we can accomplish. The fact remains we have far greater odds of succeeding in our goals if we put action and determination into our daily purpose. Temptation to stray from our goals happen when we lose our resoluteness. We need a “Make it Happen” attitude. If we lived our lives with such steadfastness, we don’t need resolutions.

We may still fail and fail often; however, by being resolute every day, we have far greater chance at succeeding at something. Being resolute allows us to look back every day to see what we accomplished. I suggest that if we are resolute about everything we do, all day and every day, our confidence will soar, and we will do more.

Time to ban resolutions! I did not set a 2012 resolution this New Year. Instead, I will be resolute. I am certainly determined to do more and be more this next year, and I am resolute to make it so!

Happy New Year