Leading, Speed, and Scale

Leading, Speed, and Scale

I’m just back from leading a session on navigating turbulent times with a group of entertainment industry executives. I can’t share details as there was a cone of silence over the proceedings. However, I had one insight that’s safe to share. It’s drawn from the impressive inventiveness of the companies represented: the pace of change relative to the pace of experimentation.

It’s no surprise that change is everywhere, and that more things seem to be changing faster than ever. ?While there are many sources upending traditional practices, the tumultuous past year has been fueled by the rollout of various generative AI tools that hold the potential to disrupt seemingly everything. It made change visible and the velocity palpable.

When things are changing rapidly, you have to experiment equally quickly in order to know where, when, and how to direct your own change efforts. Emphasize hypotheses over assumptions. Push the envelope. Anticipate and adapt. Sense and respond.

The inability or willingness to experiment results in being stuck playing defense around legacy offerings and operating models. Insufficient resources to allocate to innovation renders one at subscale for future-readiness, a certain death spiral of decreasing relevance. Faster and faster, they get smarter as you get dumber.

As I contemplate my own field of graduate and executive education, I think about how wedded we still are to a traditional classroom, time blocks, and delivery methods when short-form video on TikTok and YouTube are redefining expectations. Gens Z and Alpha are spending more and more time in online gaming environments with distinct norms for competition, collaboration and communication. High resolution technology and flexible materials are enabling immersive sensory environments. And yet we hold tight to a largely passive, scripted, low tech experience and wonder why engagement is elusive.

This is not to suggest that there is no value in old models. A classroom experience can still be magic, yet it will increasingly need to be part of “multi-channel engagement” that embraces emerging modalities. I hate the jargon, too, but it aptly describes the new terrain.

It’s challenging because of the financial investment in legacy infrastructure and the psychic investment curricula, slide decks, and bureaucratic procedures. A conspiracy of the past often frustrates the future.

Not every experiment will succeed. Nor should it. Every experiment is, however, a chance to challenge and learn. That, to me, is the real value. Whereas one could once engage in such an exercise every few years, it feels now that the cadence must be months or weeks. Companies such as Amazon and Netflix are running thousands of experiments each day. The mantra from my early career in direct marketing, “always be testing,” now applies to leading and wide swaths of other practice areas.

I guess that many other professions are in similar circumstances. Unless you are in tech or another sector where innovation is the norm, risk aversion and a belief that old ways are good enough discourages experimentation… and inches one closer to extinction.

As a leader, do you encourage experimentation? How do you recognize and reward learning? This newsletter is one of my experiments. What are yours?

Shares and comments encouraged. Please subscribe if you haven't already. Thanks!

Dain Dunston

Recognized executive coach in Conscious Leadership, helping teams develop radical self-awareness.

2 个月

Eric, "always be testing" and "always be experimenting" are now and have always been the keys to sensing the emerging future. This is a time for exploitation and exploration, exploiting what works now, exploring what will replace it. Great thinking here.

Barry Dorn

Assoc. Director at Harvard University

3 个月

Great article. Great insight into leadership no matter what the industry

回复
Herb Dyer

Chief Executive Officer @ Hospice Austin | MPA

3 个月

Excellent point: “Not every experiment will succeed. Nor should it. Every experiment is, however, a chance to challenge and learn. That, to me, is the real value. Whereas one could once engage in such an exercise every few years, it feels now that the cadence must be months or weeks.”

回复
Nieva Brock

Senior Executive / Associate General Counsel at United States Department of Defense/Public Speaker/ NPLI Harvard University/Meta Leader

3 个月

I love how you embrace the opportunity to change.

Jay R. Weiser

LINKEDIN TOP VOICE ? | I GUIDE AND ENABLE BOARD AND C-SUITE LEADERS TO BECOME FUTURE-READY AND VALUE ADDING | THE FIVE LEADERSHIP SUPERPOWERS??? | Catalyst ?? | Accelerator ?? | Navigator ?? | Speaker?? | jayweiser.com

3 个月

Eric McNulty, seems like many folks should be listening to our podcast about The Five Leadership Superpowers??. Given your delving into this area more, let’s find some time to catch up.

要查看或添加评论,请登录

Eric McNulty的更多文章

  • LEADING THROUGH MAXIMUM UNCERTAINTY

    LEADING THROUGH MAXIMUM UNCERTAINTY

    Leading is always about harmonizing certainty and uncertainty. It requires bringing people into an ill-defined future…

    7 条评论
  • FOUR INSIGHTS FOR NAVIGATING PROFESSIONAL TURBULENCE

    FOUR INSIGHTS FOR NAVIGATING PROFESSIONAL TURBULENCE

    A lot of people, far too many, have found themselves suddenly relieved of their employment. Downsized.

    32 条评论
  • The Power and Perils of Competence

    The Power and Perils of Competence

    One of the first questions I ask the physician groups to which I speak is which of them will invite me to their…

    8 条评论
  • LESSONS IN LEADING SYSTEMIC CHANGE FROM DR. KING

    LESSONS IN LEADING SYSTEMIC CHANGE FROM DR. KING

    Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

    4 条评论
  • Are Wildfires the Future of Work?

    Are Wildfires the Future of Work?

    This week, I was going to write about AI and the possibility of a world without work--or at least a radically…

    22 条评论
  • Reboard Your Team to Accelerate into 2025

    Reboard Your Team to Accelerate into 2025

    Welcome to 2025! The new year always comes with fresh goals and ample possibilities. Objectives, however, may be the…

    4 条评论
  • A Year of Gratitude

    A Year of Gratitude

    The beauty of Christmas, Hannukah, and New Year's Day falling on Wednesdays is that it makes it easier to take an…

    19 条评论
  • On Taylor Swift, Leading, and $197 Million in Gratitude

    On Taylor Swift, Leading, and $197 Million in Gratitude

    Call me a Swiftie. It’s not that I am as bowled over by the music as some of her fans.

    26 条评论
  • Is Jack Back? Power Over and the State of Leadership

    Is Jack Back? Power Over and the State of Leadership

    There has been an unmistakable drift toward autocratic leadership in both business and politics in recent months. Top…

    21 条评论
  • Rereading the Leadership Classics

    Rereading the Leadership Classics

    Given recent events, I think there will be reexamination of what it means – and takes – to lead. I know that I am…

    15 条评论

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了