There are many reasons why leading strategic execution is so difficult and, in most cases, causes companies to fail. The typical culprits of poor execution are a lack of a good strategy, poor communications, poor change management, not enough resources, and overall bad leadership.

Unfortunately for many leaders who will realize it before it’s too late, changing customer expectations is usually far down on the list and not something most leaders pay attention to. However, I think understanding changing customer expectations is critical to immediate and long-term success.

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… in 7 Words

We live on a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous VUCA world.  This world is a non-stop, 24/7, ever-changing place that feels like on some days is getting ever-so-close to the brink of complete chaos.  Business leaders, both new and experienced, wake up every day and go to work with the primary goal of survival instead of a mindset that is challenging the ways things are and disrupting the status quo.  Which in my opinion is extremely unfortunate and completely unnecessary.

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During a recent live Business Leadership development workshop, one of my participants was sharing some of his frustrations with the current work environment and the fact that the velocity and complexity of change is increasing so quickly that he doesn’t have time to do his “real” work.  “I don’t get it.  I’m so busy in a day reacting and responding to things that I send myself an email for every issue I can’t get to and then when I get back online after I put my kids to sleep, that’s when I respond and actually do some work. And there are some nights where I have another 20 things to do.”  One of the other cohort members asked if he would be more productive if he worked at home more.

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The easy way for most leaders to look at the business ecosystem of 2019 and beyond is to think the business disruption is limited to the next Uber concept or some of the new methods of targeted digital marketing tools that send you a text message when you are within a mile of a store you like. But as your probably realize, digital marketing isn’t the only disruption being faced by leaders. There are supply chain management disruptions, new product innovation disruptions, workforce disruptions, and geopolitical disruptions that are impacting the way we lead and the way we work.

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The next blog in our series on the important topics business leaders are talking about in 2019 is about “Collaborative Feedback.”  The days of leaders standing up in front of a group of employees shouting “I’m going to hold people accountable” in a command and control environment are over. The new norm is strong, yet collaborative, methods of delivering coaching and feedback that is effective in terms of executing the big picture and actually getting things done through people.

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