Top 10 ignored truths about success in leadership

Here is my top 10 list of generally known findings and proven effects that are systematically disregarded time and again even by seasoned executives and business leaders:

1. Yes, it's true: money is at best a short-term motivator for employees and needs to be continually reinforced like a drug. It is expensive and ineffective for improving performance.
2. No one can be "motivated", only demotivated. People give their best when the environment makes it easy for them, not when they are forced to do so (even by money).
3. All long-term successful companies have a clear and distinct mission (why do we do what we do?) that customers can easily understand. Why, then, do so many managers struggle with the "why" question?
4. Clarity in vision and strategy for all employees are among the top characteristics of outstanding organizations. So why do we find this so rarely?
5. Why do most managers lead without knowing where they are going? The vision question ("When do you want to be where and with what?") results in an estimated 90% of managers stammering for ten minutes.
6. Success is always (meaning over 99% of the time) a result of clear and implemented decisions and not "external circumstances" like competition, customers, regulation, etc. Or, why else did Apple successfully market the iPod (and not Sony) and the iPhone (and not Nokia)?
7. A coherent strategy ready for implementation can be developed in a matter of hours, provided you, as a leader, know your market (and you should anyway, right?).
8. Organizational productivity can be increased by an estimated 20% just by implementing simple measures (the emphasis is on "implementation").
9. Almost all managers have horrendously poor time management and are driven by outside forces rather than strategic priorities. Be honest: how about you, for example, with too long meetings, email handling, etc.?
10. Weak implementation discipline, along with a lack of vision, is probably one of the main reasons why companies don't get off the ground, but instead are forced by the competition to cut costs. Why? Employees want clarity, clarity, and more clarity. About direction, strategy, and implementation. Quite simple, actually.

You have a choice: either you continue as before or you start to work systematically on improvements. How? ➔ Click here