Fisher Strategy

This thought provoking and timely article describes how Sony has set an important and challenging goal for itself: “zero environmental footprint by 2050.”   While daunting and uncertain, Sony’s operation “Road to Zero” (maybe the first of its kind) explicitly embraces the need for humans to reduce our environmental impact, and goes the important next step of defining how they are going to take on this immense task of changing every aspect of Sony’s operations to reduce environmental impact.

As the author states, “you get the sense that executives have clearly thought this through. They seem to realize that a big goal, just hanging out there on its own, would be far too daunting, nebulous, and not very actionable.” So, they have developed a plan to integrate this huge overarching goal into the very fabric of their corporate being:

1. They set a huge, transformative, visionary goal they WANT to accomplish

2. They broke the goal into several strategic pieces, consistent with the operational oganization

3. For each piece, they outlined how their goal of zero could be achieved and realized

4. They defined specific strategies within each area

5. They set a short term deadline of 2015 to create some urgency and to provide an initial interim status check

6. They then define specific actionable items within the 2015 timeframe that are consistent with the 2050 goal of zero

Whether Sony succeeds is yet to be seen. At least, finally, a significant corporation has taken the first step.  Now it’s time for others to follow, to learn, and to lead.

John Wooden, the unbelievably inspiring 30-year basketball coach from UCLA (1948-1975), died this week at the age of 99 years.  With his death, the world has lost a tremendous leader.  Thankfully, we live in a world where his contributions are readily accessible (check out his wiki-bio, for one).  He had so many wonderful quotable comments, with a wonderful knack for reciting epic poetry off the cuff to make his point. My favorite being this:

“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.  Don’t try to beat the other guy.  Play your best, and you will be successful.”

Perhaps his most important contribution was his Pyramid of Success.  He said he took 14 years to refine it to a point where he could share it with the world.  Find it online.  Download it.  Print it.  Consume it. Absorb it.

Part of the Pyramid is his 12 Lessons in Leadership:

1. Good Values Attract Good People
2. Love is the Most Powerful 4-Letter Word
3. Call Yourself A Teacher
4. Emotion is Your Enemy
5. It Takes 10 Hands to Make a Basket
6. Little Things Make Big Things Happen
7. Make Each Day Your Masterpiece
8. The Carrot is Mightier Than the Stick
9. Make Greatness Attainable By All
10. Seek Significant Change
11. Don’t Look at the Scoreboard
12. Adversity is Your Asset

Love it or hate it, multi-tasking is an integral part of our daily lives today.  Leveraged by technology (starting with the internal combustion engine), we now expect to be able to do more and more in less and less time.

But the question is, should we?  Does multi-tasking really make us more efficient? More productive? Less stressed? Or is the reverse actually the case?  Below are links to two competing blog posts from the Harvard Business Review.  Even the experts don’t agree…  I challenge you to read them both at the same time, while checking your email and/or texting someone – maybe on your PDA at your kids’ soccer practice.

How and Why to Stop Multi-Tasking

and

In Defense of Multi-Tasking

I just read a great post by Roger Martin in the Harvard Business Review.  Martin writes that strategy making essentially consists of answering five key questions. The trick, he points out, “is to have five answers that are consistent with one another and actually reinforce one another.”

In brief, these questions are:

1. What are your broad aspirations and the corresponding concrete goals? (& How are you measuring progress?)
2. Across the potential playing field, where will you choose to play and not play?
3. In our chosen place to play, how will you position yourself to win against the competitors there?
4. What capabilities are necessary to win in your chosen place and manner?
5. What management systems need to be in place in order to play your chosen game?

Roger Martin is Dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto in Canada. He is the author of The Design of Business: How Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage (Harvard Business Press, 2009). So, I think he has a good grasp on the subject!

Here is an excellent 15-minute video about how some leaders inspire and others do not.

Simon Sinek is the Founder of Why U. He has some very interesting things to say.

Pretty cool website, too!