Leaders should debate vigorously, then STFU and unify behind their decision. I’ve written elsewhere about what a company loses when its leaders shut down debate. This is more pronounced in those boards where dissent is viewed as treachery. People paid as decision-shapers effectively become an overpaid board of one. But I’ve also seen leadership teams […]
Decisions – Delay some, speed others through
Being decisive is a values business asset, especially for leaders and founders of businesses. For good reason – indecisiveness can kill businesses, projects and sometimes people. It’s the topic of much research and writing. I’m currently enjoying “The Little Black Book of Decision Making: Making Complex Decisions with Confidence in a Fast-Moving World”, kindly gifted […]
“Grow Grow Grow Sell” Isn’t the Only Path for your Company
It’s interesting talking to founders of companies about where they’d like their companies to get to. There seems to be an implicit assumption that it should be grow, grow, grow, sell. Probably a result of the insane valuations and exits of those Silicon Valley companies, small in number, but large in PR column inches. Pursuing […]
Does your team over-commit?
How often have you seen members of your team commit to something that they then don’t do? How often have you done it yourself? It’s not because *they* (ahem) are bad people, or even that they didn’t intend to do it. But simply that they’d only made only one commitment, rather than the 2 that […]
The Pure Tosh of “You’re better off starting your own company”
“There’s no such thing as job security in companies today, so better be secure in your own business than insecure in someone else’s.” Advice I keep hearing, usually to lure people into some business coaching programme or another. Advice that’s pure horse-manure. Here are the facts. The FT reports around 54% of UK startups fail […]