Click on the link to read my article, It’s Time To Redefine Your Market, which has just been posted on BNET.
© Stuart Cross 2009. All rights reserved.
Archive for October, 2009
It’s Time To Redefine Your Market
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009The Gold Medal For Relationship-Building
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009All of my successes in business have been delivered on the back of strong relationships. And, similarly, most of my failures can be traced to an absence of effective relationships with the key stakeholders.
Last week the IOC selected Rio de Janeiro to host the 2016 Olympic Games. Unsurprisingly, some US commentators have criticised President Obama, arguing that he helped Chicago lose the race.
However, attracting the Olympic Games to Chicago was a relatively small item on Obama’s agenda, which also includes healthcare reform, Afghanistan, Iran and global economic and fiscal recovery!
For President Da Silva of Brazil, Rio’s bid was far higher up the list of priorities.
This meant that, over the past two years, he was able to dedicate himself to visibly leading Rio’s efforts and, importantly, building the personal relationships that are vital in all political efforts – whether that involves international diplomacy or simply persuading a front-line colleague to work an extra hour’s overtime.
As Da Silva said, “I didn’t knock down President Obama. I was not running against him. The US maybe didn’t dedicate themselves as we did.”
The dedication required to nurture and develop the relationships that secure support for your ideas and initiatives can, very simply, mean the difference between success and failure.
© Stuart Cross 2009. All rights reserved.
The Top 10 Innovation Killers
Thursday, October 1st, 2009Agreement Isn’t Alignment
Thursday, October 1st, 2009I’m in Rhode Island, USA, this week working with my mentor, Alan Weiss, and meeting some potential clients. Last night a small group of us went to a local restaurant that Alan had recommended called Siena, which is near our hotel in Warwick.
As we set off the taxi the driver flicked the meter and confidently went onto the motorway, heading towards the nearby city of Providence. After a couple of minutes I finally noticed that we were heading in the wrong direction and asked him where we were going. He apologised and said that he thought we meant the Siena restaurant in Providence, as that was the restaurant he was used to taking passengers.
After a quick discussion we finally headed back to Warwick, and as we passed the hotel from where we’d set off 10 minutes before, I casually noticed the meter had hit $30.
By the time we reached the restaurant the fare was $45. After some grumbling, my colleague Phil paid the driver. Personally, I was just happy that we hadn’t set off for the Siena in Tuscany.
Graciously, I paid for the $15 cab ride back to the hotel, which gave a cost difference of 3:1 between the ride with, rather than without alignment.
The cost of misalignment to business can be much, much greater. In 1998 a $300 million NASA spacecraft mission to Mars was destroyed because one of the sub-contractors used imperial units rather than NASA’s metric approach.
Checking for alignment means confirming actions, specifying accountabilities, establishing milestones, and clarifying details and assumptions.
Agreement isn’t necessarily alignment. Agreed?
© Stuart Cross 2009. All rights reserved.