Are you heading in the right direction?

Welcome to the Strategic Leader newsletter! In each edition, I give you a perspective, resource (e.g. a tool, framework), and a recommendation (for a book, article, talk, service, or person).

If we haven’t met yet, thank you for joining me! You can learn a little more about me?here ?and by watching this short?video .

Perspective

Welcome back! Many of us are focusing on what it takes to make 2023 the best year ever. For our business and for us, as individuals.

But what if you soon realise that you’re focusing in the wrong areas? Or if the assumptions you’ve made – about customer demand, competitor activity, costs - prove not to be true??

Do you stick with it or change focus?

It’s not easy.

Some people ignore the signals, believing their business is so resilient, their purpose so powerful, their strategy so compelling that they can ride them out and continue their original course.

They let their pride, over-confidence, or myopia cloud their judgement. Others flip continuously, driven by their insecurity and under-confidence, to the point that their organisation loses its identity and shape.

The most inspirational executives and entrepreneurs I work with know WHEN, HOW and WHERE to flip their focus to something more profitable.

This could be in relation to their strategy, products, clients, team dynamics, or meetings.

On my recent holiday in Thailand, the executive chef of our hotel told me that his big Christmas banquet was a flop. Despite a superb menu and heavy promoion there were no bookings. He’d even flown in an artisan cheese specialist at some expense. He could have written it off and moved on, his pride (and finances) dented. Instead, he invited him to showcase his local cheeses at breakfast the next morning. It proved to be a rip-roaring success. Guests loved the novelty and personal touch. The chef thought it might just be the start of a new partnership.

I also remember one CEO who was masterful in flipping his perspective during meetings with his leadership team. He would immerse himself in the detail of a topic, and then ask what his customers or investors might think of it. Or go back to first principles and ask what they were trying to solve for. He’d then flip back to the detail. He was both immersed and detached, and confident in his abilities, that he could flip between perspectives. Sometimes it resulted in a different course of action. He also changed the composition of his team to avoid group-think and increase the range of perspectives.

There are two important elements – your perspective, and your actions. Tip: you’ll want to flip your perspective far more than your actions.

What does it take to FLIP successfully?

• Remind yourself: what are we trying to achieve? Where are we going? That's the strategic?
• What signals am I seeing or sensing that I need to pay attention to? Customer orders are down, costs (exchange rate, commodity) are up, progress (in launching a new product, reaching an important strategic decision) is slow.
• What do I know? Believe? Assume?
• How material and permanent are these signals?
• What’s the impact on our business if we do?nothing?
• How can I flip my perspective? For example, consider it from another angle (e.g. customer, new entrant, investor) or inviting others to join the discussion.
• What do these new perspectives tell us about our options (for action)?
• To what extent do these options address the signal?
• What would hold us back from acting (e.g., pride) and how do I overcome it?
• What is our first move?

Bill George , former CEO of Medtronic and now Senior Fellow at the Harvard Business School, thinks the context we’re facing requires a new form of leadership. Younger, more customer-focused, more in tune with their True North (their fundamental values and beliefs). He said that we need to “flip the organization upside down and put our frontline people on top”.

You can listen (and watch) to our podcast conversation?here .

Resource

Reframing a problem, situation, or opportunity is a critical element when flipping your focus. I really like the?approach ?used by the Reframing Studio, applied in design environments.

They remind us that “What once appeared a brilliant idea may [..] be completely out-dated by the time it becomes reality.” So, it's important to imagine new possibilities in a future context, be “value-relevant” (address topics people truly care about), and focus on relations between people

You’re more likely to be able to flip your perspective – and your actions – if you’re thinking clearly. I like this?list ?of thirty ways to “free your mind”. Numbers 10, 27, and 30 are particularly good!

Recommendation

Flipping our focus applies to our careers and our lives too.

Sometimes we have a blister that wears at you, but you keep coming back it, to coin Prof. Dan Cable ’s?phrase ?(which he prefers to follow your passion). Or we have a need to re-evaluate what’s important to us. Too often that happens when something bad happens – we?get laid off, a loved one needs care, or we?suffer a health care.

Don't wait for that to happen. Instead, be proactive in developing your own personal strategy.

My good friend, Diana Wu David , a renowned Future of Work strategist runs a superb Future Proof course which helps you do this and connect to other people. The next cohort starts in March 2023. Check it out?here .

All the best,

David.

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Thank you for reading this edition of the Strategic Leader newsletter. I hope you found it insightful and useful. Here are some ways to access further perspectives, tips, and resources:

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