Tag: Health Care Strategy

  • What should we paying more attention to in our business strategy?

    What should we paying more attention to in our business strategy?

    According to research by the Pew Research Center, by 2030 “all members of the Baby Boom generation” will have reached the retirement age of 65–with an average of 10,000 Baby Boomers reaching retirement age every day between now and then. By contrast, in 2014 millennials already represented a majority of the workforce, with more than half in management roles. With estimates that by 2025 nearly 75% of the western world’s workforce and predominate consumers will be Millennials, what should business leaders and those influencing strategy be paying attention too? I found this recent study Global Millennial Survey 2019 by Deloitte to provide good insights to consider.

    Among this year’s key findings:

    • Economic and social/political optimism is at record lows. Respondents express a strong lack of faith in traditional societal institutions, including mass media, and are pessimistic about social progress.
    • Millennials and Gen Zs are disillusioned. They’re not particularly satisfied with their lives, their financial situations, their jobs, government and business leaders, social media, or the way their data is used.
    • Millennials value experiences. They aspire to travel and help their communities more than starting families or their own businesses.
    • Millennials are skeptical of business’s motives. Respondents do not think highly of leaders’ impact on society, their commitment to improving the world, or their trustworthiness.
    • They let their wallets do the talking (and walking). Millennials and Gen Zs, in general, will patronize and support companies that align with their values; many say they will not hesitate to lessen or end relationships when they disagree with companies’ business practices, values, or political leanings.
  • Why the carrot or the stick?

    Why the carrot or the stick?

    It’s an open question to you the reader. Why are we attempting to motivate the 21st century knowledge worker, interacting in increasingly complex environments in the same way since the 19th century?

     

    As business leaders we have more than four decades of scientific research on human motivation available to us, yet there has been very little innovation or connection between what science knows and what business does to motivate employees.

     

    While carrots and sticks worked successfully in the 20th century when work was relatively less complex than today, with the increase in matrix organisations and with the ongoing decline in employee engagement and productivity, experts like Peter Drucker, Daniel Pink and Yves Morieux posit that motivation techniques that favour control are precisely the wrong way to motivate people for today’s challenges and we should move towards the three main drivers of true motivation; autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

     

    What do you think? I’d love to hear from you if you’ve experimented with self managed teams or innovative ways to engage teams.

  • Finding the edge

    Finding the edge

    In the pursuit of excellence whether in business, sport or my personal life, I like to continuously challenge where my real or perceived limits are. I often find that when I explore a limit, I find an edge. This edge is where I start to explore, understand and challenge the belief that is defining the ‘limit’.

    Exploring where the edge can be uncomfortable. It generally challenges an existing belief, yet my desire to improve, my pursuit of excellence, drives me forward to find, explore and push this limit. I won’t find the limit unless I push the limit, push to find the edge, move with it, learn from it and find a way through it.

    An example is in preparation for the 2019 rowing season, I have challenged the Masters Rowing Squad to train differently to how they have in the past. Together we challenged the belief in the “no pain no gain”  approach to athletic improvement. (Side note; see Seiler’s Hierarchy of Endurance Training Needs 2016) On exploring what the best in the world do to go fast. we identified the key themes that define success and the supporting tactics. Some of these themes challenged general beliefs and concepts, yet instead of going with what everyone else is doing or the dogma of failed strategies, we are focusing on building up the season in a healthy, intelligent and personalised way that has proven to be successful.

    Although the squad knows the approach works, it challenges their beliefs. Together, we need to be consciously aware of what we are doing and why we are doing what we are doing. We need to be aware that our approach is challenging our belief systems and the beliefs of others around us. We need to pay attention to our thoughts and fortitude to stay the course. Simple questions like; “whats the purpose of this session”? help to bring the awareness to what we are doing and why.

    Another example may be when challenging an organisation in transformation to examine existing organisational beliefs. The old quote of ‘this is how we do things around here’ or in excusing leadership beliefs and or behaviour that are not working as ‘The Organisation’s DNA‘ need to be consciously put on the table for discussion.

    Leaders need to explore and understand how successful teams have navigated through change. The default norm of ‘telling’ people what to do and being directive simply is not as successful or effective as empowering teams with clear direction, with trust in the organisation to work it out. This may challenge existing beliefs on what it meant to be a leader and may place leaders at the edge of their beliefs and along with the ambiguity, doubt.

    “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

    Albert Einstein

    Like the rowing squad, leaders that acknowledge they need to work differently and consciously pay attention to their behaviour generally do. It feels different, yet when supported, leaders can gain strength in exploring the edge through cooperating and collaborating together.

    So what you say? Well in the pursuit of excellence I’m constantly looking for the edge, understanding what I need to do differently or optimising the ‘same‘ to achieve my personal and professional goals. I’m paying attention to what is making me uncomfortable and why. I’m getting feedback from close counsel on what I may need to do differently or pay attention to. I’m challenging my beliefs. I’m finding the edge…


    Excellence. The quality of being outstanding or extremely good.

    Oxford dictionary, 2019