By: Jack Daly
Thoughts stimulated by the press. From June 8, 2009 and the book, The Upside of the Downturn, by Geoff Colvin: “You have to be very disciplined, and this is even more important in a crisis. Our management team, 15 to 30 people, talk every day at 7:30, 12 noon, and five o’clock-what’s going on, sharing information, making some decisions on the spot, reviewing facts and information. I’m always surprised at companies that don’t have discipline-they don’t have business reviews, they aren’t looking at their competitors.” Jamie Dimon, CEO J.P.Morgan Chase. If you are a regular reader of this newsletter, then the Daily Huddle should not be news. But, the question is, how many are doing this? I’ve found in more challenging times, the huddle is even more needed and often skipped for more “urgent” things. Get everyone on the bus heading in the same direction, and watch how more effective you are and the improved results in a shorter time frame.
Be seen early and often, setting the proper leadership tone and showing the team that the leaders are working to solve the issues. Act fast- Every instinct tells you to decide more slowly than usual, yet it’s vital to decide more quickly. Here’s a closing thought on responsibility- “An entrepreneur shows his true colors in a period of crisis, not in a period when everybody is having success.” Giorgio Armani
Social Networking yet? What’s it gonna take? When are you going to join the party? Your customers are there, your competitors are there, and you’re not? Business is being done here, so it’s no longer acceptable (if it ever was) to say you are waiting for it to prove itself. Witness a few tidbits (Fortune July 20) from Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape: Co-founder of Ning, investor in Linkedin, Digg, Board member of Facebook and Twitter, and the list goes on. Andreessen says Facebook “will be bigger than Apple” and declares that the social-networking company will become the mass market window to the web, much has Google has been for the past six or seven years.
Here are a few sites to explore participating in: Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Plaxo. There are more but that would be a great start.
