Grolistic

The Process in Innovation

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When considering an innovation initiative, leaders tend to start by evaluating their accumulated product or service data. They know the profit margin for each offering, and how well each is selling in key markets; often, they have a good sense of market share for each offering. They may even have customer satisfaction metrics available for each product or service.  But all of this internally-generated data does little to clarify why customers choose a specific product or service, what …

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Making a Difference

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For months now, people have been working virtually to keep the wheels turning…fulfilling their responsibilities, meeting their deadlines and striving to achieve their assigned goals. It’s necessary work, producing some personal satisfaction, but often leaving many with a thirst to do more…To contribute to a purpose they believe in…To invest their energy in more meaningful work…To make a difference.  As their leader, it’s expected that you’ll nurture this aspiration to make a difference, to drive productive change that improves …

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Will Capitalism Survive?

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Today’s headlines may make us wonder if free market capitalism can survive its current challenges?  After being the source for exceptional global progress, freedom, innovation and an improving standard of living for over 300 years, is capitalism still the best engine for creation and creativity, or as some proclaim, has it shifted to become an engine of destruction? To date, no other competing model to capitalism has ever delivered the amount of global progress experienced during the …

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Cultivating Shared Accountability

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High performing teams embrace shared accountability. Having committed that the ownership of their decisions is shared by the team rather than by their leader alone, they rely on one another to achieve results. The leaders of these teams cultivate this environment of shared responsibility by: Ensuring that all team members operate under common standards of performance, fostering appreciation and satisfaction; Encouraging team members to challenge the status quo, to experiment, and to leverage their initiative and experience, driving …

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Acting With Urgency

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Today’s business environment changes rapidly. Functioning successfully in it compels businesses to quickly make accurate decisions.  Each of these decisions is made within a specific context, and with a defined set of criteria, against which various options are evaluated. The context is the company’s culture as described in 3 foundational documents: Its Purpose – Why the business exists and how it makes a difference for customers; Its Values – The company’s core beliefs which define how it behaves and why; …

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Price or Value

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Offering your product or service as the lowest priced alternative is a simple, efficient strategy. Price is obvious to all buyers. It’s clear, direct and easy to evaluate. It’s often the same for everyone. Offering the lowest price is seductive. But doing so makes your offering a commodity – discounting your expertise, diminishing your brand, and setting you up for a one-way journey down in revenue and profit. A purchase becomes just another transaction, producing no enduring value for the …

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Krulak’s Law

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Charles Krulak is a highly decorated, deeply experienced, retired General in the United States Marine Corps. In 1999, the General published an insightful article about leadership that later led him to become a college President and founder of theKrulak Institute for Leadership, Experiential Learning, and Civic Engagement.  The core leadership principle that he cited in 1999, which is often described as Krulak’s Law of Leadership, is “that the future of an organization is in the hands of …

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Why Strategies Succeed

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“Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night, with no lights, while looking out the back window. The best way to predict the future is to create it.“ ~Peter Drucker  Most companies rely on strategic planning to help create their future.  Seeking the best strategy to achieve their goals, one that leverages their strengths and competitive advantage, they compile market information, gather intelligence on their competitors and clarify customer needs. They identify …

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How Do You Make Things Better?

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The objective of change is improvement. Making a product, service or process better creates value. The products and services we use, our food, our environment, our communication tools, the number of options we have, and many other things have improved because someone decided to challenge the status quo and take on the risk of making them better. Surviving in a competitive world demands that improvements continue, but overcoming the barriers built to sustain the status quo is always …

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Sustaining Change Dialogue

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Disruption compels the consideration of change. Once it’s gained our attention, determining how best to navigate through change requires personal, respectful dialogue. Safely sharing and discussing differing perspectives enables new ideas to emerge, tensions to be relieved and a preferred outcome to be determined.  Leadership is all about dialogue, contact and connecting, building relationships – with the objective to improve outcomes. Few leadership obligations are more vital. Securing the shared commitment and accountability by affected stakeholders to achieve an …

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