Podcasts from a Caribbean Cubicle

Your company is one which builds its strategic plan around an individual’s ideas. But even if the “Big Man” is a brilliant entrepreneur-founder, is it a good idea to include a host of other stakeholders in the process? If the current method isn’t obviously broken, why fix it? You can read more of my articles at https://blog.fwconsulting.com

Almost all corporate plans cover the next five years. However, many companies go not a single month further. In other words, they survive on one five-year plan after another. If you have ever questioned the wisdom of this practice, keep listening. To read my past articles for the Jamaica Gleaner, click here.  

As a manager, you may be in trouble. In the past two years, new ways of remote working have come out of nowhere and the debate is on: should you resume face-to-face working? Part of you wants work to be efficient, but another part hopes that everyone will come back to the office. Is this an unreasonable ask? Check out my past columns at https://blog.fwconsulting.com

What advice would a strategy expert like Dr. Robert Kaplan give to Caribbean companies? He's been to the region several times, but his exact words haven't been captured. Until this interview at the HRMATT Conference of 2015. As a fellow speaker, I had the opportunity to sit down with the creator of the strategy map and balanced scorecard during one of the breaks. It wasn't our first conversation, but it was the first that went into serious depth.

As a manager, you may find it hard to engage in fruitful discussions about the future. You are able to speculate informally over lunch, but be unable to plan strategically in a formal session. You sense that this needs to change, but how? Where will this new skill-set come from?   To see a catalog of all my past columns, visit blog.fwconsulting.com

Do your managers complain about key strategies their predecessors failed to craft? It seems as if they have all the answers, but you suspect that they may be kidding themselves. The truth is, they may not be very different. If so, how should you intervene so they don’t handicap future generations with more poor decisions?   To see a catalog of all my past columns, visit blog.fwconsulting.com

Have you ever wondered whether there is a real difference between the performance ethic of men and women? You don’t want to be biased, but if all things are not equal, it would be silly to pretend as if they are. Here is my experience - not a law or rule by any means, but some more data for you to consider.

Is there at least one staff member in your office whose lack of productivity has been exposed by COVID? Before the pandemic, you had a favorable opinion, in general, of the person’s performance. But once they began to work from home, their output plummeted. How should you intervene? Is it worth the time and effort?

Can someone from outside your company create your organization’s strategic plan? After all, if your future depends on the quality of this document, shouldn’t you hire an expert to do the job? At first glance, this makes sense, but as you contract with an outsider to execute the task, you may have misgivings.   To see a catalog of all my past columns, visit blog.fwconsulting.com

Have you ever been stuck in a strategic planning session, complaining to yourself: “This is nothing more than a continuation of old, tired thoughts?” You need to intervene and somehow shift the level of thinking. But you don’t know what to say, and you certainly don’t want to make things worse. Do you suffer in silence? Or attempt to provide some leadership? For past issues from 2010, visit https://blog.fwconsulting.com Subscribe to this podcast on Apple podcast or your favorite player!