Invest in Your Infrastructure
Invest in Your Infrastructure
What crumbling roads and failing bridges can teach leaders about organizational health
These days, everywhere I drive in metropolitan Detroit, there’s construction. Roads are closed for months, sometimes years. Traffic is rerouted, and it takes longer to reach any destination. It’s a genuine inconvenience. But in Michigan’s climate, maintaining the roads is critical to avoiding accidents, minimizing vehicle damage, and enabling faster emergency response. Left unaddressed, reconstruction costs escalate, businesses lose customers who avoid certain routes, and property values stagnate. (more…)
0
Read More
There’s an old African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
News and business headlines continuously report on organizational crisis like downsizing, layoffs, overleveraged balance sheets, undercapitalized businesses, and bankruptcy. These are technical terms for the simple and traumatic reality of crises threatening an organization’s very existence. It hits all sizes of businesses, non-profits, higher education and municipalities.
As leaders navigate the uncharted waters of today’s volatile business landscape, teams are looking for more than just directives. They are looking for perspective, insight, and meaning.
Decades ago, as a teenager, I completed my final driver’s training class, eager to put my new skills to use. This rite of passage marked my readiness to navigate the open roads with my permit and a parent by my side. My father met me outside the building in his Ford Pinto wagon (yes, I’m dating myself). He moved to the passenger seat and told me to drive us home. My excitement quickly faded when I realized the car was a stick shift, while I had only learned on an automatic. Undeterred, my father explained how to use the clutch and coached me through every jerky, stalled moment on our way home. 
As a leader approaching the end of the year, you’re likely focused on packing as much as you can into the few weeks that are left. This includes completing important work that was likely pushed aside months ago for more urgent priorities, wondering how much vacation time you’ll have to leave on the table, and preparing for the holidays. 
Recently, a client said to me, “It’s lonely at the top.” This person was feeling the weight of making major decisions that affect their company, their customers, employees, and shareholders. These are decisions that often must be made without clear or complete information; stakeholders might criticize them; and the impact may not be understood for months or years to come. 
Earlier this year I signed up to complete my third half-marathon which is scheduled in October. I consider myself more of a finisher than a runner, but here I am again. I keep doing it because it represents a goal that stretches my physical and mental abilities, and because I’m simultaneously raising money with a group called Love Runs to fight human trafficking. (Our goal is $150,000 and your donation of any size at this 
One of the most important roles leaders find themselves in is setting or changing direction for their team. Whatever happened in the past, there is a need to clarify a future that is different or distinct. The operating environment or fundamentals may have shifted. New threats or opportunities may have changed the pathways for progress. And the metrics for success may require modifications. 
I live in the metro Detroit area, and for anyone who has a heartbeat here, we know that the Detroit Pistons are in the National Basketball Association playoffs. After last year’s poor 14-68 season, they’ve rebounded to 44-38 with a new coach and a physical style of play reminiscent of the 1989 and 1990 “Bad Boys” era when they won back-to-back championships.