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April 2024
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ENOUGH9/25/2023 When is enough really enough? I can make a thousand subscribers, have more books published, have million followers but do I really need that to grow my impact in my small part of the world with a viable group of community members, clients, and supporters? Nah. Every business is personal and every organizational leader has their personal dreams, fears, and gaols. What is important is to tap into the core value of each organization, not what is popularly being done in the sector. Some non-profits should not do social media just because everyone does it nowadays, or implement a hybrid work model if that wouldn't fly with the current delivery model and the type of clientele that they have. Some organizations should fold up for good and some should merge and be acquired by other stronger and more robust organizations instead of letting themselves perish in the marketplace. Some organizations must retain their mission in the face of the temptation to grow too big too fast. Some will have to recalibrate what they're doing to make it to the next year. Humans are never content. Remember the Israelites in the wilderness, complaining about the manna they ate everyday versus starvation, cruelty, near-death, and oppression in their former lives. As a strategist, a lot of organizations come to me for growth, expansion, sustainability, and resilience. But before getting deeply involved, we need to define the terms first. Their own definition versus the predominant moves in their sector. I wouldn't take a project that is sure to fail. Failure to have a clear definition of these is the worst failure of all, especially for those who are just trying to help the process move along. What is enough? What sustains and not break you? What keeps it together in balance and rhythm? Becoming better is enough.
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MISTAKES6/19/2023 I was reading an article a month ago and this movement has its published list of mistakes since 5 years ago. Every year, they owned their mistakes to their constituencies, members, and the general public. Reading this gives me an insight that they are truly a learning organization with the discipline to not put things under the rug or water down certain actions that almost put their organization into peril. I have written about organizations that are learning and unlearning at the same time. This dual movement requires that they take courage to face the missteps and act to reverse or mitigate those. This is not just transparency par excellence. This is living what they basically put in their values poster or their values statements. At the end of the day, either you really live it or you just mouth it for the sake. Kudos to this strong organization that is not afraid to say they are wrong when present evidence suggests otherwise or current analysis remits an error of judgement. We fully know by way of hindsight and much of that learning comes from consciously improving every year. How hard is it to simply say, "we made some mistakes. Learn with us and from us.
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CREATIVITY BLOCKS1/8/2023 I was binge-watching The Offer this week and I can't imagine that when they're making The Godfather film in the 70s, the executives have a way different vision for it. It was proposed that it will be set in the 70s not a period film, shot in Kansas or St. Louis, or with a young and cheap director (which they did), actors that can work for cheap or for free, and more. The Godfather as we now know is one of the best American films ever produced and highest grossing film of all time.
There was the Mafia disturbance and interference, sabotage inside the production units, difficult actors and crew members, logistical issues, budget pressures, and other millions of minutiae problems but the logical business mindset clash against the creatives is a major highlight for me. It wouldn't be the Godfather that we know or at least the shadow of that success if it not for the creatives standing up for the authenticity and integrity of the film. It will not be a success if the executives had their way about the logo, the budget, their preferred actors, the locations, and even how it will be marketed and distributed. The dalliance with the Mafia is a film of its own and the way it was handled was, unfortunately the best possible course of action, albeit Machiavellian. The business context set the stage for how these films were supposed to make money that will save Paramount from being sold off to a bargain and leave more for the future viability of its corporate owner. There are many management lessons here for which this page won't be enough. How ironic it is that film businesses are creative businesses; they are meant to marry the business logic of efficiency and financial performance using the creative breakthrough ideas of their time as a distinct competitive advantage. While these sounds easy to do, the Offer allows to understand that it boils down to how they see themselves as partners of the venture that either had to sink or swim together or get out of the way for the other's success. While in the film the business guys weren't one-dimensional and turned the other leaf, in reality, so many of the films of the past and the present are produced on ruthless business criteria as a hedge for failure. As the audience, we just don't know the costs of these wars inside these organizations. But we know that we have yet to see another Godfather or another film with both smashing commercial success and unparalleled artistry in decades. |