Note to My Future Me If you're steering your organization with just one KPI, you're not managing. You're hoping. Before you read on, a quick warning: What follows might shift your perspective on organizations—maybe even radically. Turn back. Take the blue pill. Keep your beliefs unchanged - about your team, your department, your business unit, your company, your industry. Or keep reading…and risk taking off the frog goggles. And s ee things differently. You’ve been warned :-) Crash Course in Controlling When people hear the word “controlling,” they often think of numbers, spreadsheets, maybe men in gray suits with ties, horn-rimmed glasses, and little sense of humor—or the latest cost-cutting initiative (#travelpolicy). Others associate management and control with something more exciting: a Formula 1 car, the cockpit of a jumbo jet, or a conductor leading an orchestra. All of these associations are valid (although the “no humor in controlling” cliché has been tho...
Note to My Future Me A Matter of Perspective A while ago I was confronted with a huge dilemma in a project, which led to a significant delay and a serious budget overrun, that nearly killed the entire project. When I was on the verge of frustration, I remembered an important lesson from my time as an soldier: Whenever I’m confronted with a problem, I start with one decisive question: Which perspective do I choose? Often, you can’t fully control how personally affected you are or how deeply involved you become. Let me explain what I mean more clearly: Air Force, Navy, Army This question always reminds me of a comic I once saw at an army facility. It showed three scenes—each with a soldier from a different branch of the military: In the first, a fighter pilot sits calmly in his jet, looking down from a safe distance at a raging battle below. His thought: “What a mess.” In the second, a patrol boat commander is in the middle of combat, visibly tense, thinking: “I hope we make ...