How Widgets Connect Strategy and Execution, Nature or Nurture & PSD Degrees
25 June 2023 Newsletter
“My drive in life comes from a fear of being mediocre…because even though I have become somebody, I still have to prove that I am somebody. My struggle has never ended and I guess it never will.” – Madonna
Hope you’re Thriving!
It’s been a productive week with some deep dives with teams on Profit per X, and how that changed the structure of an org chart for one team. We also delved into three different ways to connect strategy with execution (see below) for one, and stacking S curves.
Let’s jump in.
Nature or Nurture?
Is it nature or nurture, I was asked last week. Then in two other meetings, we discussed why curating motivation in children might be so important.
I’ve recently been reading the book Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are.
In Blueprint, Robert Plomin, a pioneer in the field of behavioural genetics, draws on a lifetime’s worth of research to make the case that DNA is the most important factor shaping who we are.
Our families, schools and the environment around us are essential, but they are not as influential as our genes. Even the environments we choose and the signal events that impact our lives, from divorce to addiction, are influenced by our genetic predispositions.
The theory is that it doesn’t matter what school you send your kids to or how much you harass them about homework. Eventually, they will become who they are destined to be because of their genes. And some genes are connected with motivation.
The book really made me think about the world from a new perspective.
For example, how would DNA connect with the people we hire and our teams? And how does DNA connect with The Ideal Team Player attributes for a person who is Hungry Humble Smart?
PSD Degrees
We all want to hire the right people and build successful teams.
So we might consider their DNA makeup, or their alignment with the Hungry Humble Smart attributes, or any other hiring method you’ve considered. But you probably haven’t considered PSD* Degrees.
In this letter from 1981, Alan Greenberg, Chairman of Bear Sterns, outlines their philosophy toward internal promotion and the importance of PSD.
Smart Recruiters ATS
This week I came across a client who highly recommended Smart Recruiters – an Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
As someone who used to own a job board company, I’ve seen first-hand the value of a good ATS and how many mid-market companies could benefit from a simple ATS solution. The client said it’s easy to use and makes the recruiting process much easier. Of course, like several in the space, they’re incorrectly calling an induction checklist an onboarding process, but that’s just my gripe.
As always, we don’t have business relationships with this company and don’t earn or seek commission. It’s just a product we’ve heard that’s working well for someone we thought you might be interested in.
Check out Smart Recruiters ATS here SmartRecruiters | The Best Talent Acquisition Software
How Widgets Connect Strategy with Execution
Effective execution of strategic objectives is a common challenge faced by many leaders we work with.
A McKinsey global survey indicated that 60% of respondents thought they were not effective at translating strategic priorities into action, highlighting issues with unclear accountability, among other reasons.
Having facilitated several quarterly strategic workshops with leadership teams, most leaders seem to have a 1-year (and some of them even have a 3-year) Revenue target.
However, there is an awkward 30-second silence, followed by a lengthy debate when I ask the question: “What will be the total widgets we will have to sell to achieve that Revenue target?”
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Keep Thriving!
Brad Giles
