Learning organizations grow and live. Arrogant organizations die while looking back at the glory days. In my work as a consultant I can quickly assess if I am dealing with a learning or arrogant organization. No matter the size or age, learning organizations find themselves relevant to their audiences, while arrogant ones might continue to provide a product or service that fewer and fewer people seem to want. But when asked, no business, church, ministry would identify itself as arrogant. But here’s how I differentiate between them. Learning organizations ask the right questions. While we all want to do what we do better, sometimes that’s the wrong question to ask. “How should we do what we do better?” is a good question but “what should we be doing?” is a better one. You can improve your product or experience to the point of, not only diminishing returns, but obsolescence. You…

I was recently reminded that great organizations, missions and even products were ideas in the mind of a visionary who more often than not, did not have the proverbial two dimes to rub together when they saw the opportunity and set out to seize it.  Such dynamic has always fascinated me. For me the question has always been, “Did it succeed because it was a good idea or because the sheer tenacity of its visionary leader?” After going back and forth on the answer, I have come to believe that the answer is both –a good idea in the hands of a passionate and committed visionary.  I have seen great ideas, quantified by research, die because it lacked a champion that drove through the obstacles and refused to let roadblocks stop it from coming to fruition. I have also seen strong, hard-driving leaders hold on to a bad idea and…

Arrogance is a downfall of many talented leaders who start believing in their own PR and fail to ask for help. I just got off the phone with a young entrepreneur who has started what I call a “socially redemptive business”: proceeds from the business fund not-for-profit organizations. I love the energy, vision, passion, and commitment I heard during our phone conversation. But no amount of enthusiasm or sheer determination will help my new friend out when he makes a critical marketing or business mistake. Unlike what we have experienced from our parents or our favorite teacher,  life does not grade us on intentions, but on execution. That’s when the voice of wisdom and experience can be critical to a leader. No matter your age, a wise leader knows when to ask for help before it’s too late. I count as a privilege to be able to advise some pretty…

Learning has been a foundation of any growing society. Good education was costly because it employed the best minds to teach the fortunate who could afford it.  But content, much like everything else in our world that once cost to obtain is now available for free. Everywhere. Instead of buying a do-it-yourself book on how to lay tile at Home Depot, I can go online and find a dozen free videos that will walk me through the entire process better than any book could. With the democratization of digital tools and basically free storage, the knowledge base of the planet is growing at an exponential rate. Learning piracy has become a growing concern for content providers who are finding it more and more difficult to charge for their products—from book sellers to higher education providers. People have always found a way to violate copyrighted information by making illegal copies of…

Recently I’ve spent time with two great communicators: one has sold over 37 million books and the other is a leader of one of the nation’s largest churches and an amazing teacher. For all practical purposes these men are “on top of their game,” after all they have achieved the kind of professional success most people only dream of achieving. Interestingly, each of them independently of one another asked me the same question: How can I get better at what I do?      I’m sure the very reason for their success is, what I call, “the life-long learner syndrome.” I was first introduced to it but an 83 year-old camp cook in South America when I was only 15. She called me in the kitchen and ask me to show her how to make Brazilian Stroganoff. She had been cooking five times longer than I had been alive, and…

I have the privilege to work with some very dynamic organizations and one of the indicators of whether or not they continue to grow is their ability to learn–both from their mistakes as well as from others. My first consultation with a new client serves two distinct purposes: Is this a good fit? Is this a learning organization? I have been in situations where I knew that my company could add a lot of value to a client, but, unfortunately, they were not teachable and therefore, not a viable business relationship. Here’s what I look for in making my assessment of an organization’s teach-ability quotient. Secure leadership. The leader sets the tone for the rest of the organization. If the person at the top is not a learner and willing to be taught, then he or she will create a culture of insecurity and excuses. In my experience that shows…

Expectations can help you grow. Unreasonable expectations will only frustrate all parties involved, however. My college organ teacher, (yes, I played the organ during college) Mr. Shanko was a crusty, old, organ virtuoso whose expectations helped me become a much better organist. What I didn’t know, however, is that the law of expectation would carry over into other areas of my life. “If I accomplished so much more than I though I could in this arena, what other areas can I outperform my own expectations?” I eventually asked myself. So how can you help those around you succeed without creating unreasonable expectations for them? See what they cannot. Mr. Shanko saw a talent in me that I didn’t see. He affirmed it during our lessons together. “You’re very good. You could be great,” he used to say. I though the organ was cool because I could make sounds with my…

If you’re a communicator, you cannot afford not to be engaged in social media. I know this sounds like a mandate, and it is. Even if only a part of your job is to communicate the vision, mission and direction of the organization you lead, you, more than anyone else in your organization, should lead the social media charge. I meet with leaders who refuse to embrace any social platforms. Their excuses are always the same: I don’t get it. I don’t have time. I’m a private person. I have nothing to say. Until recently I used to go down a list of why it didn’t take that much time and how to manage time. I patiently talked about how even a private person could have a dynamic online presence, and how even the most introvert of leaders has something to say to his or her organization as well as…

I couldn’t help but to eavesdrop during a conversation at the gym locker room last week. I heard a man named Jim asked someone whom I figured was a owner of a marketing agency, if his business was still doing full marketing campaigns. “Yes, we do.” The interested party then followed up with another question, “even social media?” The man’s answer was puzzling to me in its dismissive nature, “we do all that stuff.” By then I was fully engaged in their exchange. Jim went further to prod, “you know social media is a very different strategy.” Then came the confession, “I’m older than 30, so I don’t get social media,” said the business owner. In my opinion, his days are numbered as a professional marketer. Sometime ago, he decided to stop learning and growing. He’s now obsolete. I’m a life-long learner. I have made that commitment years ago when…

People often say they like change. But they lie. We really dislike it. Very few of us are truly “change agents,” as it has become of the battle cry of so many consultant wannabes. Most of us only seriously contemplate change when staying the same is more painful than the perceived cost of the path. But whether any of us like it or not, change is being thrown at us at an unbelievable pace. If you have problem with it in your life, watch the video below at your own risk. centerthis vidhttp://www.youtube.com/get_player So what does it mean to you? I’d love your input.