Excellence is Never an Accident

December 27, 2021

Good morning! You and I together made it to the 52nd Musings of 2021… that should count for something. Next week we begin Year #4 together. I am profoundly grateful for the privilege of having you as a reader and as a client. Thank you for doing business with me… YOU are appreciated, valued, admired, and so much more; Thank you!

• Merry Christmas… still ten more days to enjoy and to celebrate — with the Feast of the New Year falling somewhere in there, too.
  • Oh, and as my son would remind me, “Don’t forget about second breakfast.”
• Do you ever experience tidal waves of emotion suddenly welling up inside you?
  • Among the great joys of life is watching my (adult) children interact with each other, their spouses — and with their children, and with their mother.
• The population of the United States in 2021 increased by a smaller percentage than at any point since its founding in 1787 = 234 years of growth more than now.
  • Interesting and curious that a huge baby boom had been predicted given the plague.
  • Turns out the plague apparently was not as much an aphrodisiac  as many thought it would be.
  • But wait, this might be a problem of greater significance than the average person realizes.
  • What happens, for example, to the social security program in the United States if cash flow reaches a net negative and there are no reserves?
• The great exodus from work — 4,400,000 workers called it quits during the month of September 2021 alone…
  • More on this sometime soon when we can figure out something relevant, cogent, and/or erudite to say about it.
    • Feel free to opine or to teach me… share your wisdom.
• You could be among those who will invent the next best way of doing business.
  • Since the time of Hank Ford and others we’ve been trapped in the industrial model of efficiency and productivity — even in areas of work that have nothing to do with either.
  • Education, for example, tapped into the assembly line model back in the early 20th century and — thanks to Elwood P. Cubberley — has been unable to rid itself of that anchor around its ankles for more than a century.
  • A Nobel Prize — and even greater acclaim — awaits the person who becomes the 21st century’s Elwood with a new vision.

• Wanna be a pioneer?
  • Zero-in on flexibility.  It’s the #1 area of concern for workers — and the area of greatest opportunity,
  • The owners/ bosses/ managers/ entrepreneurs/ leaders who address flexibility best will win the race.
  • As a corporate Human Resources friend told me last week, “This isn’t about adding more foosball tables to the break room.”  So true.

Excellence is Never an Accident

• Excellence is never an accident…
  • Three McKinsey senior partners looked across more than twenty years’ worth of data on 7,800 CEOs from 3,500 public companies across 70 countries and 24 industries to identify the mindsets that helped top chief executives deliver extraordinary impact.  (Dewar, Keller, Malhotgra, 2022)
    • “CEOs are going to have to set direction…
    • They’re going to have to align organizations…
    • They’re going to have to mobilize leaders…
    • They’re going to have to deal with Boards…
    • They’re going to have to manage stakeholders…
    • They’re going to have to manage themselves in ways that are excellent through all of those trends.”  (Keller)
  • “Great CEOs are bold.
    • You can be bold regardless of context.
    • Or you can be bold within that context.
    • If you’re not bold in that first year, you’re not going to move the needle.
    • That is the crux that’ll actually let you conquer any context and any situation around failing.
    • That is your one safeguard against failure.”  (Malhotra)
  • “A huge part of the CEO role now is external.
    • Setting your strategy, running your organization, and delivering for shareholders is only half the job.”  (Dewar)

• What problem would you solve right now if you could?
• Without A Vision Consultancy’s uniqueness in the marketplace is the way in which we actively listen.
  • We are not trying to sell you anything, we do not have a template or a book we’re promoting; there is no panacea.
  • We listen, we seek to understand, we listen some more — and then we help you to create YOUR vision and YOUR plan — one that won’t sit on the shelf.
    • You might not be the right client if you don’t care enough to pause, consider the big picture, have patience, and trust and participate in a process. (P-P-P-P)
  • Once you have a vision all it takes is patience and persistence along parallel paths to achieve success.
    • Keep getting better at what you do best.  (YT)
    • “In general I have found that people don’t fear change, they fear the unknown that change brings.”  (Wensman)
    • Without a vision the people perish — metaphorically and for real.  (Habiger)
    • You can’t push a rope.  (maybe Eisenhower, Dwight)
    • “Culture eats strategy for breakfast every single time.”  (Wisdom from Dave — so true)
    • “Scrambling costs money”  (C. Lahr, 2021)
    • “The things we measure get done.”  (More from Dave, Ibid., 2021)
    • “If serving is below you, leadership is beyond you.”  (Kirchner)
  • If you or your organization is interested in becoming bigger, better, stronger, healthier, happier… engage our services.
    • www.withoutavision.org or just click me back right now:  [email protected]     Phone or Text:  320-224-4492
    • If you live to be 100 you will not encounter a force greater than the status quo, lest it be gravity.
• Clients often ask, “What is the difference between a mission and a vision?  And why do you need one of each?
  • A mission answers the question, Why do you exist?
    • Your answer should contain both logical and emotional appeal, briefly stated.
      • e.g., “We produce organic apples for sale in local cooperatives and farmers’ markets.”
  • A vision is an expression of awe, wonder, inspiration, possibilities, intentions, audacious goals… the best-possible outcomes relative to your mission; it draws others in like a black hole vortex or a powerful magnet while inviting them on your journey.  It should result in vertical head nods and goosebumps — or tears of joy.
    • A vision answers the question, “What transformational achievement do you want to make?”
  • A shared vision is the ultimate motivational, inspirational, and declarative language because your carefully chosen words perfectly articulate your message while inviting and motivating others to grab hold and also make it their own.
    • e.g., “The high quality, visual appeal, and nutrition of our apples consistently exceed the expectations of our customers as we sell out our inventory to eager and grateful buyers every single season.”