Different Kinds of Money

Do you ever wonder how the big numbers the Federal Bank deal with are different than the money we use day to day?   I think the only similarity is they both are measured in dollars but they are quite different items.   "So what?" say you. At Project X we deal wit

Setting Personal Goals

Are you achieving your goals?  Why not?  Do you have fifteen minutes right now?  This could change your life.  I have found that the setting of goals has been very rewarding.  I will write them down and share them with a confidant.  Then at the end

Commander’s Intent

"No plans survive contact with the enemy."  The military have discovered that the plans that were made in detail to think through all the issues  can change radically in the heat of battle.  In the 1980's they added an element to the planning called the

Core versus Context Business

What part of your business is CORE and what is CONTEXT?  What differentiates you and what must you do well but does not differentiate you.   This mental model can really make you look at your business in a new light.  In a book by Moore called "Dealing wit

Time Management Part 1

Are you controlled by your Blackberry or Iphone?   Are you governed by your meeting manager?  Are you feeling productive?  Do you work in an open environment?  Do you feel you life is out of control? Most of us these days are really controlled by ou

Do You Have a Business Intelligence Strategy?

Most businesses these days get some sort of reports on how you business is performing.  However with things changing rapidly, different information is often needed.  What business questions do you have today?  Do you have a strategy for how these new questions will b

Vision and Creative Tension

I would like to pursue further the ideas on Vision and Creative Tension based on the ideas in Senge’s book the Fifth Discipline.  I think for me the life of hard knocks and our human fraility really tested my tolerance for creative tension.  I think I lost my ability t

Creative Tension

One of the neatest ideas from Peter Senge’s Fifth Discipline was the concept of creative tension.  I think it is in the section on Shared Vision which is one of the five disciplines.  The concept is that reality and our vision are often significantly different and crea

The Mushroom Farm

A friend of mine was describing the experience of her son who was an intern to one of the senior people in government.  It was a great experience for the person and he was included in many meetings and activities that regular employees would never get a chance to experience. 

Whack a Mole Culture

I was reading an article about the danger of your hidden culture called "Executives Beware — Your Culture May Be Deadly by Peter De Lisi.  If you recall the kids game, when the mole sticks his head up out of the ground, you try to whack the mole.  In many organiza