Coordinates 06.20.02
Welcome to Coordinates 06.20.02
Okay, I’m a HUGE West Wing fan. And, I love how President Bartlett always ends key meetings with “What’s next?” It’s like he’s saying, “Bring it on…. I’m ready to take on that next challenge…. What’s important for us to address next?”
Even with parts of the country starting to go back into lockdown, with the shock of the pandemic subsiding and 3 months of forming new habits, that’s where we stand. We’re starting to turn our sights towards what’s next. What’s next for you, your business, your brand? What are you ready to take on?
This time has offered us a pause and space to step back and contemplate. In “Leadership on the Line,”, the authors talk about “getting on the balcony,” a metaphor for getting perspective.
During this time, how can you reframe a challenge, a problem, or an opportunity you are facing?
How can you try on new and different perspectives to unlock new thinking? For example:
What if there were no constraints? What if you were to be the one to ask, “Why can’t we do that?”
Take on different stakeholder objectives, goals, and values. Ask, what would the customer say? What would society and our community say? What would our employees say? What would our shareholders say? What would marginalized or minority groups say?
Ask, Are our or my assumptions true? Is what I’m thinking are root causes really root causes? How can I reframe this situation to see it in a more productive way?
Along these lines of answering “What’s next?” below in the round-up are several articles that offer insights into what might be starting to take shape. My hope is you’ll find something there that’s useful to your business or brand or to you personally.
We also offer two articles of our own. One offering tips on how to make a step change in your business. The other is an article I wrote on a practice I call Strategy 30 that helps you carve out thinking time and strategize and plan what’s next in just 30 minutes. If you try it out, let us know how it works for you. If you’d like the paper, you can find it here.
With that, what’s next is summer! I hope everyone is able to find some relief and relaxation over the next few months. As well as make time to contemplate and get to the balcony.
Be safe. Be well.
Kathy
P.S. If you can use help with gaining new perspective, please reach out to just chat and ideate together or consider our Quick Insight & Clarity Sprints, Clarity & Action Workshop, or Brand & Marketing coaching services.
Leadership Corner
How do you manage your business through periods of creative destruction? Learn 5 rules of change.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that our world is not static. It is ever changing. The concept of “creative destruction” is ever at play. Such an environment demands that leaders always be thinking forward. And, it means you must embrace change and continually think about how you’ll move your organization through dynamic times.
So, how do you make a step change in your business?
Read more to learn 5 rules of change >
Insights to Inspire to Action
Consumer
Some good insights from Google on new consumer behaviors and ever-shifting trends based on its search data, such as our relationship to time and space, work and leisure, and buying.
Just Capital’s recent poll shares what American’s are wanting from Corporate America, including an evolved form of capitalism, using this time to reset practices, and a focus on what benefits workers.
Strategy
McKinsey offers amazing free insight into what jumpstarting the recovery will look like.
This is a really interesting read with points-of-view from 6 experts on how our world and capitalism should be reshaped during and after this pandemic.
Brand
Mars’ CMO Jane Wakely shares some inspiring examples on how to be a Brand for Good. I especially appreciate the efforts the company has invested in for a couple of years now (not just in this moment) to address bias in its advertising. It’s a rare example of what I call Integrity Marketing. We need to see more of it. If you are a senior marketing leader, this is worth a read to get some ideas on how you might improve your marketing efforts, moving towards branding for good.
Marketing
No doubt the pandemic and Black Lives Matter are changing what consumers expect from companies and brands. For one, brands should match what consumers are feeling themselves—act with empathy.
Innovation
To inform your innovation efforts, get Wunderman Thompson’s update on accelerated 2020 trends.
Leadership
Tips on how to help your teams manage their anxieties around re-entry and what’s next.
This article suggests that leaders can’t stop at just implementing unconscious bias training. You have to do more to shape your culture to truly create an inclusive environment.
Similar sentiment as the above article with counsel for taking action.
And, some additional practical advice here on actions to take to advance racial justice.
Creative
Check out Glee Factor for resources and tools on how to improve your organization’s culture, bringing teams together through play.
On Watch, Take Notice
What's Trending
Brand Accountability
Beyond Black Lives Matter and the pandemic response, brands are being held accountable for their actions, as well as being asked to stand up for injustices or to leverage their clout and dollars to force change.
Read More >
Book in Brief
“Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire” by Rebecca Henderson
Rebecca Henderson, an economics professor at Harvard Business School, is ...
Read more about the book here >
Listen to a podcast with Ms. Henderson here >
If you're inclined, get the book here >
Worth a Listen
Oprah hosted conversations with Black leaders on “Where do we go from here?”
Part 1
Part 2
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” —Charles Darwin
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead
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