A lesson in strategy

It’s easy (and in my humble opinion lazy) to jump to the conclusion that Toys ‘R Us was forced into bankruptcy because they weren’t able to make the digital transformation or able to “keep up with Amazon”.  While these are certainly two important factors, they are not the primary drivers of the recent announcement.  Upon further review, there are several important Business Acumen lessons that can be applied to this situation and key learnings that can be applied back to other businesses and leaders trying to execute their strategies.

“Disruption” is probably not a strong enough word for what is about to happen in talent development. In the very near future, the predominant method of learning for core employees will be through a convergence of curated content coming from an infinite number of sources of both good and bad quality including live and online, simulation-centric learning that enables learners to learn-by-doing, and machine learning that supports and enhances the entire process to shorten the cycle times from learning to meaningful results.

On Tuesday, I published a blog called Developing Accountability for Strategies Leaders May Not Agree With.  The focus was developing the skills of people who work for you who may not understand, buy-in, or be accountable for the change.  As a follow-up to that blog, I continue with the same theme, but from the perspective of a leader who is stuck in a situation of trying to communicate the change when you don’t agree with it.  The blogs are slightly in contrast, but they are both extremely realistic and focus on the skills and tools needed to be successful in the long run.

During a workshop I led earlier this week, a participant raised one of her most significant challenges she faces as a front-line leader and I will admit that in 25 years of facilitating leadership development workshops I’ve never heard it before.  Which means it’s either something new or it’s something not a lot of people like to talk about.

As readers of this blog know, one of the objectives of publishing it twice a week is to identify and provide practical insights and tips to successfully overcome the Business Acumen, Business Leadership, and Strategic Business Selling challenges facing organizations every day.

Many of these blogs are generated from conversations and dialogues we have with clients or participants of our business simulation focused learning journeys.  During a recent conversation with a client, we discovered a new and perplexing challenge facing his company and one that was in desperate need of a talent development intervention.  His challenge…

As readers of this blog know, one of my primary objectives is to use this as a forum for continuing our learning, dialogues, and application of Business Acumen concepts back to your world to ultimately make the best business decisions to drive revenues, profits, and shareholder value.