Field notes
Field Notes
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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By focusing on who people want to be, what they want to experience, and where they want to land, leaders give team members something only they can provide. The potential impact of this conversation cannot be overstated.
Many of the most important things in life are free. They just take some time and genuine interest. This special conversation is one of them. Consider having it with each and every person you lead.
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 an acquisition clarifies what is missing or needs to be strengthened in the existing strategy.
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 but openness.
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 linear fashion, this practice recommends documenting what you hear or read laterally, from side to side.