|
|
|
|
Solutions 21 Weekly Insights
If you can only read one thing this week...
The leadership toolbox
by Jeff Belsky | Posted on November 8th, 2017
I fondly remember growing up and helping my father carry his toolboxes to various jobs. My father ran a side business where he repaired and installed furnaces, air conditioners, hot water tanks, etc. He also was called upon by folks who needed miscellaneous repairs such as leaking faucets, damaged drains, and even the occasional “Can you fix my car?” scenario. Although my father was a senior executive at a large steel mill, he had a diverse mechanical mind, and could fix (or at least try to fix) just about anything.
And while some would say these attributes are a lost art these days, I can vividly remember the toolboxes my father had at his disposal. He had one specifically designed for plumbing. Another for pipe fitting. Another for electrical and one for tin bending. My father even had a toolbox filled with miscellaneous tools. He knew the job for which each toolbox was assembled, and exactly what was in each one.
When the need arose, my father would instruct me to load the car with the specific toolbox needed. Rarely would he ask me to put the plumbing toolbox in the car when he was going to fix an electrical problem. In the same way, he would not have me carry the tin-bending toolbox (which was heavy and still haunts me with the thoughts of crushed fingers) to a job that was for a leaking pipe under a vanity. The science behind my father’s toolboxes was intentional and strategic.
If we examine the art of effective leadership, or leaders, we see that they also carry a variety of “toolboxes”. Read the rest at the Solutions 21 Blog >
Great Reads from Around the Web
- Many Strategies Fail Because They’re Not Actually Strategies
Harvard Business Review
Why you should read it: Because "a real strategy involves a clear set of choices that define what the firm is going to do and what it’s not going to do. Many strategies fail to get implemented, despite the ample efforts of hard-working people, because they do not represent a set of clear choices. Many so-called strategies are in fact goals." This Monday morning, take a look at why "execution involves change" and how "without a clear strategic direction, any implementation process is doomed to fail."
- Why a Gen-X CEO Hired a Millennial to Help Him Keep a Learning Mindset
Harvard Business Review
Why you should read it: Because "for all the talk about how younger people desire and need learning experiences, the opposite is also true: The rest of us need to learn from them — and from how they learn."
- How Coca-Cola, Netflix, and Amazon Learn from Failure
Harvard Business Review
Why you should read it: Because "if you’re not prepared to fail, you’re not prepared to learn. And unless people and organizations manage to keep learning as fast as the world is changing, they’ll never keep growing and evolving." After all, "there is no learning without failing, there are no successes without setbacks."
What is this?
Each week, Solutions 21 brings you the latest discussions and dissenting opinions on the topics of building better bosses, shaping strategies, and preparing people to ensure that you're ready for what's next. Not your cup of tea? Unsubscribe anytime.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|