Is anything too precious to automate?
In an age where you can automate anything, is anything off limits?
Entries by Geoff Wilson
You are what you eat, whether you like it or not.
Your sources of revenue (and income) say plenty…mind them closely. The New York Times released an article this week on McKinsey’s work with authoritarian and otherwise dangerous regimes across the world. The article raises some questions on McKinsey’s choices on whom to serve and how such choices align with McKinsey’s Firm values. There have been […]
Real dirt on your uniform
Sure, you want to show how hard you worked. But sometimes it’s better to just do the work. “The optics aren’t good.” Ugh. That phrase is the start of something bad in many circumstances. Sometimes, bad optics and a good outcome is much better than a really pretty but really awful outcome. Allow me a […]
So smart you don’t have to listen…
Lack of listening betrays lack of empathy. Are you too smart to listen? You know that feeling: It’s that feeling that you already know the end of the discussion, so you don’t really have to be patient enough to listen? Or, maybe it’s that feeling that your position of authority means you don’t have to […]
The hobgoblin of business strategists
If your strategy can’t be wrong, it’s not right. Business strategy, like any real strategic pursuit, is fundamentally ambiguous. It involves estimating the future along many axes–regulatory policies, competitive behavior, customer tastes, supply shocks, organizational zeal, and investor requirements are just a few. Ambiguity has a terrible consequence for some senior management teams and most strategy consultants: It […]
Strategy is hard when you’re scared
Thinking long is hard when things are short. Have you ever been in a circumstance where short-term shocks completely derail long-term plans? You might see it in your family life when an illness strikes, or in your professional life when the loss of a customer leads to wholesale panic. On average, we are poorly prepared […]
The bare essence of professionalism
The bare essence of professionalism is reliably doing real work on the right things, and doing it well. One of the benefits of my position as a management adviser is that I get to see a lot of different management and leadership styles. And I get to see them from all perspectives: executive, buyer, seller, consultant, […]
Don’t tell me what you believe…show me where you invest.
In a world of punditry, knowing where people invest will show what they believe. Where is the most compelling evidence of what you really believe (as opposed to what you say you do)? It’s in what you own. More specifically, it’s in where you invest. Even back to biblical times, it was understood that “where your treasure […]
What the fear of missing out does to your business strategy
You don’t want to miss an opportunity, and that means you might miss them all. What does a smart strategist do with resources? Most would say that “strategy” in and of itself depends on focusing the investment of resources against valuable ends. But what happens when you have too many possible directions to go with your […]
Why ghosting may be the most unforgivable professional sin
There are professional ways to end a relationship, and silent indifference is not one of them. I was amused (appalled?) yesterday by a trend on LinkedIn that noted how the supply/demand balance had shifted so much in talent markets that people are resorting to “ghosting” at work. Ghosting, a dating term that means ending a relationship […]
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