Height & Light Blog
Play by a different set of rules
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Three Marks of High Leverage Change Opportunities
Dear Change Agent, Let’s say you just took over a major business unit of a well-known consumer services company. You were brought in from outside the industry because you had a stellar history of creating healthy growth in other consumer-oriented services companies....
Where to Start When You’re a Change Agent
Dear Change Agent, Let’s start with the bad news. If they hired you to be a “change agent,” it means you automatically have a target on your back. Companies hire change agents and “thought leaders” when they’re scared to death to do the hard stuff, unsure what to do,...
The Secret To A Hopeful Planning Meeting
Here’s the situation: You’re sitting in a planning meeting. Your team has brain-dumped a list of great ideas that have been turned into the next wave of initiatives. They’re inspiring. They’re feasible. They’ve won the prioritization vote. And you leave the meeting...
Six Beliefs Of Hazardous Organizations
Some organizations should have a warning label: Caution, working here can be hazardous to your health. Complications could include high blood pressure, weight gain, insomnia, and bleeding ulcers. Behind every hazardous work culture there’s probably at least one...
Lessons From A Redemptive Entrepreneur
“Now that’s a big idea!” It was high praise from the former senior partner of a highly respected strategy consulting firm, a guy who deals in big ideas every day. I had just shared the concept behind one of my client’s new ventures over lunch. While still in its early...
Getting The Math Right
Too many of us hate our jobs and live in fear. Even the super-successful. And it’s our own doing. I had lunch with a super-talented guy recently. He has a resume to die for - blue chip schools, top tier firms, big titles. Amid his success he had been bounced out of...
Four Keys To A Successful Breakthrough
“I’m worried about where you’re going here!” It had taken the CFO a day and a half to finally burst. He had been watching our planning session proceed, only commenting when his financial expertise seemed relevant. But after the CEO’s description of his expansive...
Four Reasons I Hate Lists
An executive I was coaching needed to dig his way out of a serious credibility problem with his boss. When he had joined the company 18 months before, he replaced the entire team while his boss smiled and nodded her approval. Now, there was a culture of infighting and...
Why A Lying Salesforce Should Scare Leaders To Death
“Here’s the truth: I lie.” It was a moment of startling honesty from a salesperson I met a while back. Her job was to cold call mid-level and senior executives to set up sales meetings for her company. That’s a really tough job, so I had casually asked her how she did...
Four Alternatives To A Shouting Match
You’ve been here: You’re working on a critical issue facing the organization in a cross-functional group. Maybe it’s something important like the freaking future of the company. The work of this group matters not just to the participants, but to many people who...
Four Fears To Make Microsoft Great Again
In the wake of Steve Ballmer’s exit from Microsoft and the announcement of their acquisition of Nokia’s handset division, many have been talking about how Microsoft has lost its innovative edge because of a culture of fear. I think fear rocks. If you’re human and...
Lessons From An Inferno
Many of us read with sadness about the deaths of 19 members of the elite Granite Mountain Hotshots firefighting team earlier this summer. Despite their best efforts and extensive expertise, they died when they were over-run by a wildfire that even overcame their...