Every manager must be able to take the strategy handed down from above (sometimes more clearly than others!) and make that strategy work for their teams.  The Strategy Execution Cycle lays out an interconnected path for making that happen.  First, a manager must Understand what the larger strategy is – the big picture and the larger goals.  Based on that understanding, the manager must then Translate it in terms, metrics, and expectations that are meaningful to the team.  Implementation of the strategy is the day to day work of the team, meeting customer needs, responding to the unexpected, and working toward the expectations set in the Translate stage.  The Measure stage checks performance against those expectations, and the Adapt stage course corrects.  But the stages cannot happen only linearly -- all of these stages happen multiple times over the course of any business’ regular operations. 

Last week in the U.S., the CDC announced that fully vaccinated people “can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic.[i]” Does that mean everything can go back to “normal”? And if so, can we as individuals go back to the way we were? The truth is all of us will have different reactions to what has happened over the past 14 months — and to what lies ahead. So much of what we have learned and discussed about leadership over the past year will continue to be relevant as leaders take on this next transition back to normalcy. So, while we might be ready to ditch the restrictions, let’s make sure to hold on to some of the important lessons we’ve learned along the way.

Leaders of all levels are faced with a daily decision: to delegate or not to delegate. The temptation to complete work without spending the additional time to communicate, coach, and supervise others is real. Delegation remains the key to unlocking two critical aspects of both leadership and teamwork — more time for you to lead strategically and new and exciting career paths for your employees.

Publicly traded companies are required by law to publish financial reports – the Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement. They must be provided to the public on a quarterly and annual basis. This requirement enables shareholders and prospective investors to monitor companies and assess their investment-worthiness. While the information provided in publicly available financial reports contains details that might intimidate a novice reader, they are, in fact, a summary of a company’s performance. To truly monitor financial performance, a company will maintain a second set of reports – with much greater detail – that are used internally to truly understand how it’s doing.

At Insight Experience, we have used a hybrid working model since our inception. We have had 20 years of experience in building a cohesive and productive team of employees — those who drive into our home office and those with a spot on the map that is far from it. As vaccination rates continue to rise in the U.S. and around the world, many companies have started the process of preparing for a hybrid work environment. For some companies, this is a new and even somewhat daunting state of affairs. 

How do companies retain and nurture the talent of Gen Z? The answer: Offer interactive opportunities for learning.

Senior leaders know all too well the unrelenting demands on their time – from one-on-one meetings, to direct report meetings, to public speaking events, to strategy sessions, to finance sessions, to HR issues, to legal issues, to board meetings … the list goes on.