最佳Andrea Olson播客 (2024)

1
Can't Solve a Problem? Forget About It. 3:27

24d ago3:27

3:27

It's so frustrating when you've got a problem you need to solve, and nothing's coming to you. No ideas that will help move things forward. Maybe you talk with others to try and gather perspectives. Or you dive into the Google rabbit hole to look at how others have solved the problem. But there's nothing. You want something new, something innovative…

1
Why Operationalizing Strategy Isn't About Communicating Proclamations 2:34

2M ago2:34

2:34

Here’s a line in a corporate strategy document from a multi-billion-dollar client I was working with a few years ago: "We need to focus on better understanding the evolving needs of our current and future customers, and tailor solutions to meet those needs." What the hell? Isn’t that what the company should do as just a basic, daily, operating prin…

1
Strategy Requires Creativity. Creativity Requires Time and Practice. 3:09

2M ago3:09

3:09

Think back to when you were under the gun to come up with a ground-breaking idea or solution to a complex problem. How many of those instances produced something revolutionary? Likely very few. However, too many companies expect employees to spend more time looking productive than being productive. So, with limited time, those appointed to develop …

1
Why Getting Unanimous Agreement is Bad for Strategy 1:40

3M ago1:40

1:40

Leaders tend to strive for unanimous agreement – especially for large strategic decisions and situations where there’s a lot of uncertainty. If we have full commitment from our team, we must be making the right decision! Who wouldn’t want everyone to be on board? But unanimous agreement doesn’t mean there’s true agreement, no matter how many head n…

1
Understanding The Types of Non-Customers 3:42

3M ago3:42

3:42

Your sales are down. You need an influx of new customers. Great! Often the first step is segmenting your prospects into groups, whether by industry, product type, service type, or some other categorization. Then the marketing blitz begins. Maybe you create a special offer on a product. Or a discount for new customers. Or just put up some billboards…

1
Does Your Company Have Mental Shrinkage? 2:54

3M ago2:54

2:54

Every industry has shrinkage in its way. Those without inventory have shrinkage in the form of innovation atrophy. This occurs when an employee is asked for their ideas and input, and invests time and effort working through them, only to learn it’s all for naught.

1
Why Strategy is Critical to Giving Goals a Structure 2:46

4M ago2:46

2:46

Success is the result of choices -- choosing to do one thing over another. This means consciously not spending time, effort, or resources on certain things. A goal is simply a target. For example, say your goal is to double revenue growth in three years. Is that a clear goal? Will that goal create success? No, because there are no clear choices.…

1
Developing Behavioral Principles To Support Your Corporate Strategy 2:57

4M ago2:57

2:57

When strategy development is complete, most executives start the rollout process. But communicating the strategy isn’t activating the strategy. Activation requires establishing guidance on how to shed old mindsets and embrace new ways of thinking. This necessitates shifting from telling to illustrating.…

1
A Simple Way To Focus Your Messaging 2:49

5M ago2:49

2:49

As a marketing leader, you want your messaging to resonate with your audience, be memorable, increase awareness, and build brand recognition. But you can't approach your team with that abstract request. You also can't simply share your 140-page corporate strategy and assume they'll glean some magic out of it. Crafting effective messaging requires s…

1
The Little Things 2:51

5M ago2:51

2:51

I'm not one for big projects. Especially those that I dread. Cleaning out a closet that's been languishing overstuffed for too long. Or reorganizing a file cabinet. It sucks. So I don't. Whether at home or work, big projects don't have to be big. They can be small if you approach them right.

1
Output versus Outcomes 2:40

6M ago2:40

2:40

Company leaders want measurable results, naturally. So they establish goals for the organization, whether a revenue growth objective or a target net promoter score. However, teams often fall short of those goals because instead of measuring outcomes, we measure the number of outputs accomplished, and in turn, overlook their connection to bigger org…

1
Chesterton's Fence and Understanding The Why Behind Decisions 2:27

7M ago2:27

2:27

Making better decisions requires understanding the rationale behind previous decisions. If you don’t understand how you got here, you run the risk of making things not better, but worse.

1
Do You Have an Employee Attrition Strategy? 2:54

7M ago2:54

2:54

Most organizations struggle with employee turnover. There are multiple reasons why this occurs, ranging from internal culture issues to simply a hot job market. But instead of being in reactionary mode when employees decide to leave, why not have an intentional attrition strategy?

1
Technology, Psychology, and Change 2:29

7M ago2:29

2:29

Over the last few years, retailers have invested a lot in self-checkout lanes. This was initially seen as a great way to reduce labor costs and challenges with hiring. They were touted to reduce waits in line, eliminate the need to interact with a checker, and get you out in no time. But it hasn't done any of that.…

1
Is Customer Service Dead or Just a Strategic Company Decision? 3:15

8M ago3:15

3:15

Many companies are pulling back on customer service, reducing resources, training, and automating support. It's understandable to an extent. Hiring and retaining customer service staff is incredibly hard. The cost of training people is high. Customers are increasingly doing their research before they enter a store, and they don't even want to talk …

1
Marketing Shouldn't Always Sell 4:00

9M ago4:00

4:00

There's been a recent push (most likely by the bean counters) to establish a direct ROI for marketing efforts. I can understand this thinking. Advertising and marketing are expensive. The adage of "half of all marketing spend is wasted, we just don't know which half" makes sense, if you're looking at waste in an immediate return sense. You spend $X…

1
Why A Strong Brand Isn't a Luxury but a Necessity 3:01

9M ago3:01

3:01

Who invented the light bulb? Of course, you'd say Thomas Edison. But what you may not realize is that Edison did not invent the light bulb. It was actually invented by Joseph Wilson Swan and Henry Woodward. What Edison did really well was commercialize the invention. But why do we always think of Thomas Edison first? Of course, he was a prolific in…

1
Asking the Right Questions 4:05

9M ago4:05

4:05

We ask questions all the time. At work, at home, amongst friends. Often, we ask questions that we already know the answer to, and other times, we ask questions that validate our existing perceptions. But in business, when we're trying to find answers to complex, layered, multi-faceted problems, we need excellent questions to get the answers and ins…

1
A Different Approach to Incentivization 2:34

9M ago2:34

2:34

There's a lot of advice out there for designing employee incentive programs. Most of it focuses on common tactics including additional vacation days, public recognition, health/wellness reimbursements, referral bonuses, tuition reimbursement, professional development, and monetary bonuses. Aside from the economic considerations, the bigger question…

1
Is Your Customer Feedback Used to Diagnose or Sell? 3:11

9M ago3:11

3:11

Why don't companies take more time to truly understand customer needs? In short, because it's hard, it takes time, and sometimes, we don't want to hear what they have to say. Customer feedback isn't simply about capturing data from questionnaires, reporting the top three frustrations customers have, and then deciding which one is the least costly a…

1
Why Do We Separate Change From Day-To-Day Operations? 2:42

11M ago2:42

2:42

Say the company is having trouble with widget quality and missed deadlines. Should leadership focus on fixing the operational problems or on the strategy? Most executives would prioritize the former. They would say, “Let’s first patch the holes and then modernize the ship.” And most CEOs would say, “Ok.“ This is a big mistake.…

1
Kairos and the Art of Timing 2:45

12M ago2:45

2:45

We've all heard the term "Chronos" often regarding expensive watches, and the measure of time. But there's another term for time that's even more important - Kairos. In Greek, kairos represents a kind of “qualitative” time, as in “the right time”; Chronos represents a different kind of “quantitative” time, as in, “What time is it?” and “Will we hav…

1
Who's Your Brand's Rival? 2:40

12M ago2:40

2:40

Everyone likes a good rivalry story. They inspire, build emotional connections, and create a deep level of authenticity with the characters involved. Your brand has rivals too, and capitalizing on those rivals can help you position your identity in a way that differentiates you from the herd.

1
Finding Your Big Small 2:37

1y ago2:37

2:37

Small things can have big, lasting impacts. For example, 60% of the fish food that organisms living in coral reefs eat comes from the tiny larvae of tiny fish. Coral reefs could not survive without them. We often don't consider the small - especially in business. Small changes are typically overlooked, and the big changes usually get all the attent…

1
What IS NOT Strategy and What IS 2:03

1y ago2:03

2:03

Recruit and retain top talent. Increase market share. Improve customer satisfaction. Expand into new geographic markets. Diversity product offerings. Are these actually strategies or not?

1
Do You Have Information Rot? 3:19

1y ago3:19

3:19

Every organization we've worked with has reams of consumer feedback. Often it is utilized to make critical decisions. Sometimes, it's not. Sometimes, the feedback itself becomes the exercise, where study after study is created multiple times a year, and the insights are simply shared across the organization - nothing more. While customer insight co…

1
Strategy is also about People and Culture Dynamics 3:54

1y ago3:54

3:54

When organizations design strategies, the focus is typically on crafting an approach to achieve key organizational goals. These plans usually take hundreds of hours collectively, and once complete, are presented to the organization in a series of town halls, beautifully illustrated documents, and leadership meetings. Yet while we believe the strate…

1
Eliminating Waste Over Increasing Efficiency 4:20

1y ago4:20

4:20

Efficiency is fundamentally about using less input and getting more output. When CEOs talk about increasing "worker efficiency", it usually means getting fewer workers to do more work. You can have the most efficient workforce in the world, but if the company, the system, and the process they’re working in are wasteful, none of it really matters. E…

1
Sorcerer's Apprentice Theory 3:00

1y ago3:00

3:00

You likely remember Mickey Mouse and the Sorcerer's Apprentice. It's a story that revolves around an apprentice of a great sorcerer who has grown tired from repetitive manual labor and decides to automate his chores with a bit of help from his departed master's hat. There are multiple interpretations of lessons from this story. The one most frequen…

1
Tackle the Big Things First 2:27

1+ y ago2:27

2:27

Let’s say you’re trying to teach an elephant how to recite poetry while balancing on a soccer ball. How should you allocate your time and money between training the elephant and designing the soccer ball? The right answer, of course, is to spend zero time thinking about the ball. But most people will rush off and start designing a really great socc…

1
It's Not Enough To Launch a New Product. You Need To Consider the Bigger Picture. 3:11

1+ y ago3:11

3:11

Innovation can change industries and systems, but real innovation causes a change in how people behave. Consider technologies like Slack, iPhones, or even the Cloud. For these large innovations and the organizations that adopt them, there is a dramatic shift in how time is spent, how communication happens, how team members relate to one another, an…

1
Why Terminology Matters 3:43

1+ y ago3:43

3:43

Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly vs. Explosion. Pre-Owned vs. Used. We've seen a lot of terminology changes over the years, and it's because words matter. How you communicate and frame something has been a technique used by marketers for decades. Yet as organization leaders, we often make terminology more abstract and complicated instead of simple, co…

1
A Declaration is Not a Strategy 3:25

1+ y ago3:25

3:25

Budgeting season is coming soon for many companies, and this usually includes the review of major initiatives, costs, resources, and activities for the coming year. Sometimes, it's also the time to re-evaluate the organizational strategy or even create a new one. And while creating a strategy can be a daunting task, many leaders actually go through…

1
Transient Leaders Kill Culture For Reasons You Don't Realize 2:53

1+ y ago2:53

2:53

Some organizations go through CEOs and department heads like Kleenex. Today, the average tenure of a CEO is 4.6 years. In other cases, C-Suite leaders rotate out of the organization within 1 or 2 years, and a new leader is installed. And it's always "This one is the right one - they're bringing incredible experience/ideas/perspective to the organiz…

1
Why Imperfect is Better Than Perfect 2:24

1+ y ago2:24

2:24

The greatest stories start with imperfection. Something went wrong - usually in a dramatic fashion - then a roller coaster of ups and downs until the recovery and eventual happy or hilarious ending. Perfect stories - where everything goes smoothly - aren't stories at all. They're a lecture.

1
Are You Obsessed with the "What" Instead of the "How"? 2:55

1+ y ago2:55

2:55

It's easy to document and communicate the "what". What is your department doing this quarter? You have a laundry list to show them. It reinforces that you have "lots to do" and are valuable to the organization. But where's the strategy? Why is this approach different, unique, compelling, or the right way to achieve the bigger goal?…

1
Do You Presume What Customers Want? 3:06

1+ y ago3:06

3:06

Imagine two people meeting up on a blind date. The first person begins by introducing themselves, going through a 10-15 minute detailed introduction and overview of their life and history. They then move quickly into explaining how and when both of them will get married, buy a country house, and have three children, illustrating how this plan is th…

1
Conway's Law and Organizational Communication 2:47

1+ y ago2:47

2:47

What is Conway’s law? It comes from a 1967 paper by Melvin E. Conway, and the basic idea is that organizations tend to design products that reflect their internal communication structures. Put another way, Conway’s law implies that the quality of a product or service is reflected in and linked to the working methods of the business that produces it…

1
Is Company Gravity Killing Your Organization? 3:19

1+ y ago3:19

3:19

Most business leaders stress the importance of understanding and responding to ever-changing customer needs to stay relevant and competitive. Yet why do so many companies spend the majority of their time focusing inward?

1
Why You Need to Learn Executive Tells 2:42

1+ y ago2:42

2:42

Poker is a game of concentration, reactions, and critical thinking. While luck still plays a large factor in the distribution of the cards, your skill at reading common poker tells can give you a significant edge. This means focusing on your opponent’s body language to decipher subconscious shrugs, sighs, and signals that give away their hand. It's…

1
The Biggest Risk to Your Business is What You Actually See Coming 3:27

1+ y ago3:27

3:27

Floods are typically predictable. There are forecasts which discuss river levels, and projections for where the water will rise to and over what period of time. No one dismisses these projections, and we always prepare accordingly. But these floods don't happen because there's monsoon-level rain in the area. It happens because of extensive snow hun…

1
How Big Is Your Organizational Debt? 3:02

1+ y ago3:02

3:02

We're all familiar with the concept of financial debt - money you owe, often with interest. Some of us are familiar with technical debt - taking shortcuts while writing code (or making repeated changes to code) that has downstream consequences later. Financial and technical debt plays an important role in organizations. But another type of debt exi…

1
What Really Kills Organizational Productivity 3:15

1+ y ago3:15

3:15

While politics are inherently part of business, time wasted and money lost are typically blamed on inefficiency and lack of productivity. People aren't working hard enough. They're slacking off. They're not really working when they are working from home. This all stems from the perception that people can't really be trusted to do their jobs without…

1
Are you creating, killing, or hiding value? 3:31

2y ago3:31

3:31

In business, we talk extensively about value, specifically how we can create it. But more often than not, in our quest to find new ways to develop value, we have many overlooked opportunities to unleash existing value and underlying things in our organizations that kill it.

1
Why Your SWOT is Useless 2:53

2y ago2:53

2:53

One of the traditional steps in developing a strategy begins with a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. The results are usually unremarkable, highlighting the same things year after year, and failing to reveal any new, unique ways for the organization to compete. So can a SWOT really form the foundation of an effectiv…

1
Transparency Creates a Better Customer Experience 2:41

2y ago2:41

2:41

We've all been in the hospital waiting room. You sometimes seem to sit there forever. You see people come and go, and maybe you see your appointment time come and go. You don't know whether they're running behind, forgot you, or simply have an emergency to deal with. While a changing schedule flow is understandable, it doesn't bode well for the pro…

1
3 Signs of Organizational Dysfunctionality and How To Fix It 4:18

2y ago4:18

4:18

We all have worked for dysfunctional companies at one time or another. Most of the time, we view them through the lens of people - whether it be domineering bosses, hostile work environments, or sweat-shop-like circumstances. However, there are three common behaviors that can permeate a company and create dysfunction, even if the people and teams a…

1
Why Organizations Say But Don't Really Do 4:02

2y ago4:02

4:02

We've heard it before. A new initiative or focus is announced to the organization. There's an explanation as to why it's important, and why the company is addressing it. Then crickets. Or worse, a few superficial, window-dressing activities are conducted before it goes radio silent. Why? Why bother with starting something that's just going to get b…

1
Building Business Resilience Starts With The Fundamentals 5:18

2y ago5:18

5:18

During the 1980s, top executives were judged on their ability to restructure, declutter, and de-layer their corporations. This often translated into overly flat and overly lean organizations, where remaining staff worked longer and harder with less. While the approach benefitted the bottom line, it didn't increase organizational efficiency, effecti…

1
Why Organizations Lie To Themselves 4:49

2y ago4:49

4:49

As a leader, one of the jobs you have is to identify organizational gaps. Whether it be operational, resource-based, process-centric, or sales-driven. But what happens when you overlook or completely dismiss gaps that you know exist? Some might say that's negligence, but the real question is, what's the cause of that negligence? Is it laziness? Ign…

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