FieldNotes
Our daily Field Notes email is just the kind of jumpstart you need. A fast read. Maybe less than a minute. Because sometimes it just takes one insight to change the trajectory of the day.
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Great Organizations Promote Valued Behaviors, Not General Values
Many organizations craft value statements to guide the enterprise that are too broad to act on. The ambiguity of a general value statement fails to influence behavior in the way that leaders intend it to. Values like Respect, Teamwork, Integrity, Client Focus, Sustainability, Excellence, and the like sound uplifting, but they are difficult to act on. Despite
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Leaders Appreciate the Difference Between a Mistake and Mediocrity
When someone makes a mistake, they unintentionally engage in an action or judgment that proves to be wrong or misguided. Such errors can occur from a lack of skill or knowledge, an oversight, a false belief, or clumsiness, among other reasons. No one makes a mistake on purpose. Mediocrity, on the other hand, is a
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Focusing Forward
Driving a vehicle at speed between narrow barriers can be unnerving. Unless the driver keeps their eyes focused forward, they are likely to brush or crash against the very obstacles they are trying to avoid. Driving an automobile safely means allowing our hands and steering to follow our eyes, focused exclusively on where we want
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Clarify Your Strategy by Considering an Acquisition
The best organizations of all sizes have their eyes on potential acquisitions, even when an acquisition seems unlikely or unfamiliar, given the enterprise’s history. That’s because they know that understanding why an acquisition would make sense actually clarifies their existing strategy. More specifically, thinking through what strategic reason most justifies why the organization should consider…
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Nothing About Candidness Requires Disrespectful or Inflammatory Language
The truth is that a team member cannot become too candid when the group is wrestling with a critical decision or issue. But they can become too intense in the way they express that candidness. The truth between candid minds can only do harm when lines of respect are crossed. Being candid doesn’t demand anything…
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A More Creative Way of Taking Meeting Notes
A common practice at some of the most creative workplaces, like Disney, 3M, and Apple, is to take meeting notes categorically to learn more actively. In creative workplaces, people often take notes laterally across a page as opposed to the traditional vertical method of documenting points down the page. Instead of taking notes in a…
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Crafting a Team Charter to Working Through the ‘Storming’ Phase
Psychologist Bruce Tuckman first documented the stages of group development in 1965. He confirmed that teams go through five stages of development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. During the Storming stage, team members settle in, get more comfortable with each other, and become more candid in their discussions. Disagreements over decisions and differing viewpoints…
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Hero Leaders Believe Every Issue Needs Them
A leader with a strong sense of purpose, extreme confidence in their decision-making abilities, extraordinarily high standards for excellence, and a clear vision of how to single-handedly steer any project to success is often called a “Hero Leader.” Despite many positive qualities, the label isn’t typically a compliment. The problem with Hero Leaders is that…
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Striking a Power Pose Before Performance
Staring at yourself in the mirror and giving yourself a pep talk while striking a power pose is more common than you think. Although many of the world’s most accomplished performers might not admit it, they, too, strike a power pose on occasion to elevate their confidence prior to performance. Give it a try sometime…
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When We Treat What We Do as a Craft
The pride and satisfaction people experience from doing a job well is etched deep into the human psyche. People are self-motivated to do good work. Those enlightened by a higher vision go a step further. They strive to excel for the personal gratification and self-respect they experience, not for the material or social rewards associated…