Comments

Erik: Your post motivated me to check my calendar of Tom tips for some inspiration just now -- tho I was skeptical, given the mood I'm in, that this exercise would yield a truly epiphanic moment for me! But I came across something I've never seen before:
"We ask leaders to be 'good stewards' of the assets they inherit. But in an age where Permanence is a Dangerous Delusion, we must instead ask leaders to challenge the legacies they have inherited..." Interesting slant on the term "assets." This has given me something to chew on today. I'm also struck by the notion of permanence as a dangerous delusion. Suddenly the same message is jumping out at me from the business AND spiritual literature I'm absorbed in. Tom Peters meets Eckhart Tolle.

Posted by John O'Leary at September 7, 2008 10:30 AM

John - What a quote! Thank you so much for that! And, of course, many thanks to TP!

Posted by Judith Ellis at September 7, 2008 12:50 PM

Hi Tom:
This was my assignment: Explain to someone in lay man terms Strategy, Marketing, Operations, Leadership and Management. Do not exceed 2 paragraphsand the description should be such that it emphasises the differences.

Here is my response:

Strategy = WHAT to do - to win the war/achieve the goal

Marketing = How to implement the Strategy

Operations = Elbow Grease

Management = measuring the above - 3

Leadership = The why of the why of the why.. Let me explain through a story:

The Situation: There was a jungle. Huge Big Trees. Lots of undergrowth.

The task: Clear the Jungle

Action : A manager was hired. An able one, indeed. He was so technically astute that he knew everything about the saws, the blades, the turn over rates - their replacement cycles et all. He made a detailed - elaborate plan. A beautiful design, detailing the hours, minutes and even the schedule. Each worker knew when the other takes over. Which saw to use, which one to grind. In Short - Halt, Step. Move was all defined and described to the Hilt. Now, that is what an able manager does: Takes charge of the situation, works with the constraints, plans, organizes, implements, controls and evalutes. Perfects the design, increases efficiency and productivity etc.

Now, why is a Leader Needed then: Well, the Leader is the one who climbs at the tallest Tress –> and shouts HALT -> Wrong Jungle.

PS: Alhough I wasn’t asked what Finance is : but here is my take: Finance is the guy who wrote some checks and cancelled others. Yes, of course, “jungle clearance project’ went through his desk.

Please let me know your comments,

Cheers

Olga Lednichenko

Posted by Olga Lednichenko at September 8, 2008 9:48 AM