Don’t forget to have fun in all that you do. Enjoy life, move forward with purpose and intent and introduce some levity for yourself and others along the way. Life is beautiful, enjoy every moment you have.

How do I get better? This question kept coming up in recent conversations with friends and colleagues and it has become apparent that one could do this by being more intentional about their own actions, thoughts, effort and energy instead of focusing on what others are doing. While you need to be aware of plans, strategies and actions of your competitors, that is NOT where your focus should be most of the time. Instead, focus on your own contributions, on your organizations and your teams and the rest will fall in place in due time.

While introducing change and new ways of thinking and doing things it is essential to manage the pace of change. This pace will be influenced by organizational culture, leadership, people and their collective comfort to reimagine how to move forward.

Change, growth and progress could all begin with you. Yes, you, no matter what your formal title might be today. While executive leadership teams have a very important role to play, change, action, leadership can be initiated across many places within an organization and are not limited exclusively to titles or corner offices.

If you believe that your team or a group can do better, begin influencing the progress and necessary advancements. Be the leader you wish you had.

As you begin a new job, there are many things to consider and do in your first few months. In addition to researching your new boss, leadership team, organizational reputation, products, services, financials (all of this BEFORE you accept a position of course), I have found the following things to be valuable as well.

First, do your best to meet as many people as you can to learn about their experiences, perspectives and ideas. During this process, listen, learn and ask questions. Clarify as much as you can and do not make assumptions. Instead, ask.

During this time, ensure clarity from your end as well. Communicate honestly and openly and make sure people understand where you stand on issues, ideas, leadership, ownership and accountability among other things.

Finally, focus your effort, energy and time on most impactful priorities for your role and your team’s potential contributions. The rest, delegate, delay or drop when possible. You only have 24 hours in a day, just like the rest of us, make the most of them. Good luck!

Lead by example and help other people whenever you can. Do it when you can, not when it is convenient…stick your neck out in support of those who need your assistance, understanding and empathy.

This message is from the end of April, when we couldn’t get haircuts among other things 😉 and it is still true nearly 6 months later. Some of the primary areas of focus for us have been (and will continue to be for a foreseeable future) grouped in five major categories:

1. People
2. Training
3. Communication
4. Partnerships
5. Technology solutions

After 6+ months of struggles and challenges for so many of us, this message from April is even more relevant today. Stay strong and stay healthy, and most importantly, don’t give up on your goals and dreams. Better times are coming.

With each passing day, more and more universities, organizations and businesses are moving their operations online.

This massive test of our business continuity plans, processes and procedures (while challenging today), will be of great value in months to come. We will learn what works, what doesn’t and what could be improved. We will also learn what could and should be a meeting that lasts for hours vs. a 30 minute video session (or a call) via Google Meet, Zoom or WebEx. 😉

We will also learn of opportunities for efficiencies across organizations, divisions, departments, even individual roles and positions. No matter what we have done thus far, we could all do better, together.

Finally, this will provide opportunities to address technology leadership, strategy and funding considering how many organizations are able to run today due to technology. I believe that for many visionary leaders, days of having a CIO outside your executive leadership team (reporting 2-3 levels lower than ideal) and funding information technology (IT) at 2%, 3% or 5% of OpEx will be long gone.

That is what I said over six months ago and much of it has been true and will continue to be true for a long time. Technology is of strategic value to all, if you know how to lead and support it in doing so.