Decision Making

How To ‘Be More Strategic’ – Questions To Ask From The Balcony

Posted by on Nov 9, 2021 | 0 comments

This post first appeared on Forbes.com “Be more strategic.” This advice comes along in the careers of most professionals seeking a management or leadership role. They reach a point at which it is not enough to be productive or to be an expert. In order to progress in their careers and contribute at a higher level they must be–and be seen as–strategic. But what is it to be strategic? Advice about being strategic is often a little vague, accompanied by the exhortations to “https://www.forbes.com/sites/hannahart/2021/03/15/how-to-be-more-strategic-questions-to-ask-from-the-balcony/get out of...

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The Four Cs of Decision Making

Posted by on Nov 9, 2021 | 0 comments

In a world of abundant data and complex organizational dynamics, many companies and organizations struggle with a proliferation of meetings in which inefficient processes lead to uneven quality in decisions. This is discouraging and annoying for participants and costly for organizations. A 2019 study by McKinsey & Company reported that fewer than half of respondents said that decisions were timely and 61% complained that at least half of the time spent making them was not well spent. That adds up to a waste of over 500,000 hours of managers’ time in an average Fortune 500 company—that’s...

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From the Culture Desk: When Startups Get Political

Posted by on Jul 1, 2015 | 0 comments

“It was great in the early days. Then things got political.” This is a common lament from my startup clients. When pressed to define “political,” the answers can get a bit fuzzy. Most find it hard to pinpoint, but, as Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said of obscenity, they “know it when [they] see it.” Asked to describe specific behaviors, one HR head talked about managers who push their own or their team’s agenda or compete for resources. A director client described others trying to make themselves look good to the CEO. Meanwhile, a CEO complained about employees who were indirect in...

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Follow Tina Fey’s Advice: Say Yes, And…..

Posted by on Aug 24, 2012 | 0 comments

There are a number of lessons I will take from Tina Fey’s memoir, Bossy Pants. Stay away from the paper cups in male writers’ offices at Saturday Night Live is one.** Another is that fame and fortune do not make women immune to the often agonizing trade-offs between career and parenting. But the lesson that is sticking with me the most is a lesson from the world of improvisational comedy:  Say “yes, and ….” Before joining Saturday Night Live, Fey, know best as the executive producer and star of the sitcom “30 Rock,”  and as the uncanny mimic of Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live,...

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Conflict Avoidance is a Warning Signal

Posted by on Dec 24, 2011 | 0 comments

The absence of conflict may be a sign that something is wrong with your team. This may sound counter-intuitive at first, but it’s true. In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, author Patrick Lencioni sets up a pyramid of indicators of team dysfunction read more…

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