Management Archives

P&G Case Study: Strategic Choice Cascade in Practice

What is this P&G case study about? Why was P&G so successful in implementing the strategic choice cascade model? This P&G case study showcases how the authors of Playing to Win implemented the five steps of the strategic choice cascade to transform the company’s Olay brand into a hugely profitable product. The implementation was successful because the management was the key driving force behind the strategy. Read on to discover how this P&G case study showcases the successful implementation of the strategic choice cascade model.

5 Qualities of an Adaptive Organization: Adapt or Die

How to Have an Effective Strategic Discussion

Is your organization well-equipped to adapt to changing circumstances outside of your control? What can you, as a leader, do to increase your organization’s adaptive capacity? Every time your organization successfully addresses an adaptive challenge, it increases its adaptive capacity and is more prepared and equipped to handle the next adaptive challenge. You can additionally increase your organization’s adaptive capacity by building an adaptable culture. In this article, we’ll take a look at the five qualities of an adaptive organization.

Advocacy and Inquiry: The Secret to Effective Meetings

What does the advocacy and inquiry decision-making process entail? What mindset is required to make the decision-making process effective? Advocacy and inquiry is a decision-making style where each party in a meeting presents their arguments and asks for comments and questions from other participants. The process creates an open environment where ideas are challenged and fine-tuned, which improves the critical reasoning skills of participants. Each participant must be confident and open to being challenged. Read on to learn more about the advocacy and inquiry decision-making process.

Self-Care for Leaders: 5 Techniques for Thriving

How does stress affect leadership? Has stress ever affected your ability to lead effectively? The stress that leaders are put under can easily result in a lack of focus and impulsive decisions. Therefore, it’s very important to take care of yourself as a leader—if you burn out, you’ll no longer be able to lead, and this could derail all progress towards your purpose. The following self-care techniques are taken from The Practice of Adaptive Leadership written by leadership experts Alexander Grashow, Marty Linsky, and Ronald Heifetz.

How to Have an Effective Strategic Discussion

What is a strategic discussion? How do you create the right environment for strategic discussions? A strategic discussion is an interchange of ideas with the goal of gaining insights that will help a company progress towards its objectives. The best environment for strategic discussions is one that is interactive and includes very few people in the room. Read on to learn more about how to conduct an effective strategic discussion.

The 5 Common Fears That Come With Leadership

What do leaders fear the most? What are their top insecurities? Leaders may seem invincible but they are also prone to fears and insecurities. In their book The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, leadership experts Alexander Grashow, Marty Linsky, and Ronald Heifetz point out five main fears that come with leadership: 1) disappointing people, 2) incompetence, 3) hard decisions, 4) failure, and 5) exhaustion. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the five toughest leadership fears.

To Overcome Resistance to Change, Appeal to Identity

Are you the kind of person who puts a lot of effort into making sure things stay as they are? Do you resist change? When you need to overcome resistance to change, it can help to appeal to identity—what kind of person someone is, what they value, and how they make decisions. You need to either align your proposed change with someone’s identity or align their identity with your proposed change. Keep reading to learn how to cultivate identity to overcome resistance to change.

Commander’s Intent: The Key to Effective Messaging

What is Commander’s Intent? How can using the commander’s intent principle help you communicate more effectively? The Army adopted the concept of “Commander’s Intent” in the 1980s. It refers to a concise statement that lays out the goal or intended outcome, allowing people to react to changing circumstances as they pursue a clear goal. You can use this concept to pinpoint the essence of a message that you want to communicate effectively to others. Read more to learn about Commander’s Intent and its application.

Biased Decision-Making: Don’t Let Distortions Decide

What constitutes biased decision-making? Are you guilty of it? We all tend to let our biases influence our decisions. While we can’t completely eliminate distorted beliefs, we can get better at managing bias—and keep biased decision-making at bay. Read more to learn how to recognize and mitigate biased decision-making.

Social and Cultural Change: How to Make a Difference

What are the challenges of social and cultural change? How are real changes made? In the 1980s, most Americans didn’t know what a designated driver was. Now the practice is commonplace. Over the years, more and more people have sought to conserve water and energy. The book Switch discusses how these and other social and cultural changes happen, providing practical ways that we can effect change. Read more to learn about social and cultural change.