Two of the latest buzzwords...strategic and leader.  It seems that business success is rooted on these two basic platforms - are you strategic and are you a good leader?  What does it take to be a good strategic leader?

According to a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, there are six main areas that you need to assess to determine your level of leadership acumen... 

• Anticipate - Do you constantly gather information from a wide network of experts and sources in order to stay on top of developments/challenges that may hit your business?

• Challenge - Do you reframe a problem from several angles to understand root causes?  Do you seek out diverse views to see multiple sides of an issue?
• Interpret - Do you test multiple working hypotheses with others before coming to conclusions?
• Decide - Do you thoroughly assess an issue before taking action - evaluate tradeoffs and risks?
• Align - Do you consider key stakeholders best interests before determining your actions?
• Learn - Do you correct the course when you realize the direction you are headed is not the right path?
  

If you spot an area that you had to answer "no", focus on turning that around...and you may soon see an improvement in your business success!

One of the things that I aspire to do with this blog is give meaty, helpful information in a succinct manner.  I guess that's a tenet of maximum productivity itself! 

In my mind, the guru of productivity has to be David Allen, the "Getting Things Done" guy.  I have been able to implement a few of his ideas and they have made some impactful differences in my ability to, well, yes, get things done... 

1.  Be disciplined enough to take your "to dos" and distill them into tasks, real tasks.  I think all too often we tackle "projects" as tasks and get stuck.  We try to tackle BIG things, when we should take a little time to plan and break things into actionable bite size steps.  For example, if you want to paint the garage, buying paint and paintbrushes isn't all you need to do.  You probably need to move things out of the garage to make room, you may need to buy paint or shelves, etc.  And maybe you need to decide if there are some things to give to Goodwill first to clear out some space. 

Put some simple thinking into the actual action steps and tackle them a little at a time.  Drop by the store to buy the paint after work one day, take 20 minutes one night to peruse the garage and see what you can just get rid of...bite size pieces helps you get on the path!

2.  Have a "place" for everything.   Folders, desk drawers, bookshelves, closets, storage shelves.  Whatever it is, find a place for it.  Mail, CDs, books, clothes, toys, you name it, it should have a place. 

Our island in the kitchen used to be a holding place for everything in our house.  Used to frustrate me that when I'd go to fix dinner, I'd only have this little square to prepare food.  So, I set up a mail system and both my husband and I have gotten very diligent about putting things where they actually go.  The only problem is now there's more of an incentive to eat in versus going out!     

3.  If you're not sure where to start with a task or project, any little step will do.  Building my business website was a bit of a daunting task.  I had this blank slate to fill.  Where to start?  Since I tend to be a whiteboard fiend, I just picked up a marker and started putting down ideas, phrases, anything that came to mind.  Next I organized the brainstorms, and started writing a paragraph or two.  It's still evolving, but just starting, got me going.

Just try one little step today...I did.  After seeing more books I want to read, I set a goal to read 2% on my kindle every day!  I'll be through a book in 2 months, easy!

As a consultant to top management, I find it important to stay on top of trends and new ways of looking at things.  In fact, this is a bit of an "illness" of mine.  Stacks and stacks of books everywhere, editions on my kindle and my phone...and audio books on my nano.  I want to soak it all up.  But there's so much out there.  Deciphering the good from the bad takes effort and in the interest of time, extreme focus.

My most recent indulgence is "Leadership Transformed" by Dr. Peter Fuda.  The book is focused on seven common themes that enable leaders to transform themselves into highly effective leaders.  Dr. Fuda uses metaphors to drive home points, such as fire, snowball and master chef.  One of his metaphors, about fire, is about the motivational forces that drive and sustain transformation efforts...what burns inside you and springs you into action. 

What burns in YOU as a leader?  Dr. Fuda states that in answering the question, it is important to focus not on a "burning platform" (a crisis), but yet on a burning ambition.  Much better to have a planned process surrounding your desire to achieve an objective than to be operating in fire fighting mode each day.  Sustainable change requires a fire that burns from inside fueled by desire and passion versus a fire that comes from the outside in the way of a constant barrage of 11th hour problems.  It's hard to step back from the challenges of each day and take a minute to think "big picture".  But if you want to achieve really BIG objectives, you really have to...