From the desk of Caspar:
Do you think of yourself as:
big picture or
detail focused?
Or perhaps, you see yourself as
goal focused or
process focused?
What I've noticed is that it's super helpful to have both lenses.
An old style distinction I learnt early in my career of thinking of myself as one or the other was unhelpful.
It's a skill worth developing to be able to shuttle between the different lenses of big picture vs detail and of goals vs process.
Tip: You need both. The big bold goal in the future only happens by what you do in the present.
The Idea Espresso Hit
When leaders force change they evoke fear and resistance.
When leaders suggest experiments, they inspire curiosity.
Why it pays to be agile
MIT research found that agile firms grow revenues 37% faster and and generate 30% higher profits than non-agile competitors.
What kills agility?
The desire for perfection.
The aim to get 100% arises from a fear of getting it wrong.
Far too often I’ve seen people crumble when they get a decision wrong and are unable to move forward.
It becomes a repeating pattern and results in inertia.
The very opposite of what you need to be able to adapt quickly.
McKinsey found that agile organisations emphasise quick, efficient and continuous decision making preferring 70% probability now vs 100% probability later.
What levers can leaders use to encourage them and their team to think of aiming for 70% vs 100%?
Here’s three simple ideas:
Use the language of science. Talk about running experiments. We’ll try this and quickly evaluate what happens and then adapt.
Aim to make trust building an infectious habit. It’s harder to make decisions at 70% when there’s little trust in the team and people are fearful of how “failure” will be viewed. Have the debate in your team around what behaviours build trust and what erodes it. From all the workshops we’ve done in this area, I’ll be amazed if you don’t come away with fresh insight.
Praise the behaviours you want to see more of like the ability to own mistakes and course correct. It’s the clearest message you can send about the way you want the team to adapt.
Tip: Being agile is good for growth and profits. Everyone in your team can learn to be more agile.
Big Bold Bites
Are you at 30,000 feet or 3 feet?
PS If you like this, you can subscribe to the Big Bold Goals YouTube Channel to get these tips every week rather than just every fortnight.
Thought for the day
““extremely engaging and so relevant”
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