Chronicles from a Caribbean Cubicle Podcast

As the top leader, it’s your responsibility to create sound succession plans. But how do you ensure that there is a pipeline of leadership talent available at all levels, such as the board and executive suite?   Check out my other columns at https://blog.fwconsulting.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit longtermst...

Have you ever played a part in crafting a useless strategic plan? You thought it was a good product, but it ended up languishing on the shelf or in unread email. However, you believed in the process followed, but something was missing… maybe from the final step which condemned the entire plan to the scrap heap. Click here to read my past articles from the Gleaner newspaper: https://blog.fwconsulti...

Each year, managers in your company sit down to devise budgets for the next twelve months. As a participant in the process, you see that each department’s spending reflects certain priorities. Where do these come from? Are some correct in calling them “strategic”? Should they be reconciled in some way? Click below to read all my past articles. https://blog.fwconsulting.com   This is a public episo...

In general, you want to be responsive to those who wish to reach you. Consequently, each morning, before doing anything else, you scan your email inbox for new messages. However, if you have ever questioned the wisdom of this habit, your concerns are justified. The most effective professionals refuse to process email first. Instead, they start the day differently: they plan the time in their calen...

For years, HR Professionals have lobbied: they must have a seat at the strategic planning table. Now, many companies agree. However, HR’s impact in retreats has not matched those of other functions. What can your company do to ensure talent management isn’t an after-thought? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit longte...

Your industry may be the same as it was 50 years ago. Change comes slowly, if at all, so your future appears to be secure. But you’re worried, anyway. As you look around the world you see entire sectors in upheaval. New technology has led to companies being “Netflixed” - completely destroyed with sudden speed by outside innovations. Check our prior article from my Gleaner column - https://blog.fwc...

You’re the member of an executive suite who has battled the COVID-19 pandemic alongside your colleagues. As the world adjusts to accommodate the virus, it’s high time to look beyond the mere survival of your company. But…surprise! Not everyone on the senior team or board agrees this is urgent. Do you garner full support first or power ahead, hoping laggards will catch up later? Check out my past c...

Your company is one which builds its strategic plan around an individual’s ideas. But even if the “Big Man” is a brilliant entrepreneur-founder, is it a good idea to include a host of other stakeholders in the process? If the current method isn’t obviously broken, why fix it? You can read more of my articles at https://blog.fwconsulting.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this w...

Almost all corporate plans cover the next five years. However, many companies go not a single month further. In other words, they survive on one five-year plan after another. If you have ever questioned the wisdom of this practice, keep listening. To read my past articles for the Jamaica Gleaner, click here.   This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get ac...

As a manager, you may be in trouble. In the past two years, new ways of remote working have come out of nowhere and the debate is on: should you resume face-to-face working? Part of you wants work to be efficient, but another part hopes that everyone will come back to the office. Is this an unreasonable ask? Check out my past columns at https://blog.fwconsulting.com This is a public episode. If yo...

What advice would a strategy expert like Dr. Robert Kaplan give to Caribbean companies? He's been to the region several times, but his exact words haven't been captured. Until this interview at the HRMATT Conference of 2015. As a fellow speaker, I had the opportunity to sit down with the creator of the strategy map and balanced scorecard during one of the breaks. It wasn't our first conversation,...

As a manager, you may find it hard to engage in fruitful discussions about the future. You are able to speculate informally over lunch, but be unable to plan strategically in a formal session. You sense that this needs to change, but how? Where will this new skill-set come from?   To see a catalog of all my past columns, visit blog.fwconsulting.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discus...

Do your managers complain about key strategies their predecessors failed to craft? It seems as if they have all the answers, but you suspect that they may be kidding themselves. The truth is, they may not be very different. If so, how should you intervene so they don’t handicap future generations with more poor decisions?   To see a catalog of all my past columns, visit blog.fwconsulting.com This...

Have you ever wondered whether there is a real difference between the performance ethic of men and women? You don’t want to be biased, but if all things are not equal, it would be silly to pretend as if they are. Here is my experience - not a law or rule by any means, but some more data for you to consider. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acces...

Is there at least one staff member in your office whose lack of productivity has been exposed by COVID? Before the pandemic, you had a favorable opinion, in general, of the person’s performance. But once they began to work from home, their output plummeted. How should you intervene? Is it worth the time and effort? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or g...

Can someone from outside your company create your organization’s strategic plan? After all, if your future depends on the quality of this document, shouldn’t you hire an expert to do the job? At first glance, this makes sense, but as you contract with an outsider to execute the task, you may have misgivings.   To see a catalog of all my past columns, visit blog.fwconsulting.com This is a public ep...

Have you ever been stuck in a strategic planning session, complaining to yourself: “This is nothing more than a continuation of old, tired thoughts?” You need to intervene and somehow shift the level of thinking. But you don’t know what to say, and you certainly don’t want to make things worse. Do you suffer in silence? Or attempt to provide some leadership? For past issues from 2010, visit https:...

As a leader of your company, you may notice managers and board members struggling to be strategic. Trapped in low-level thinking, they habitually think micro when macro is needed. How do you help them craft inspiring visions that shift the way your organization operates?     This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit longte...

In today’s COVID era, local companies have seen a dramatic rise in the use of WhatsApp groups among staff. It’s been a love/hate relationship for most, but online groups have become a critical channel of communication. Is your organization boosting employee engagement via these groups, or sitting by hoping the fad will die off? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other sub...

Like most people, do you share the challenge of keeping track of your to-dos, especially during the holiday season? You may think it has something to do with your personality, but…surprise: it doesn’t. Here’s why. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit longtermstrategy.substack.com/subscribe

Human Resource departments are facing an unprecedented demand to become analytic and data-driven. But few are answering the call. What should HR practitioners and consultants do to respond? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit longtermstrategy.substack.com/subscribe

  In the past few years, what opportunities has the shift to online business created for local companies? Your firm may be automating its processes, but is it also converting the data being collected into competitive advantage?   This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit longtermstrategy.substack.com/subscribe

If you have been asked to create a multi-day, online event, you may want it to be everything a live event should be. But you could also be wondering: should it try to mimic a face-to-face experience? And what does success even look like in this environment? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit longtermstrategy.substac...

As a company leader, you are probably interested in employees doing their best work. But most new staff members quickly lose the inspiration they had on their first day. How can you intervene so that precious employee motivation doesn’t get lost so soon? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit longtermstrategy.substack.c...

An engaged staff full of bright ideas? This is clearly an aspiration for most leaders. But what happens when employees, armed with a dose of courage, create more noise than anything else? What should organizations do when people pick up the habit of simply speaking what’s on their mind, with little commitment behind their words? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other su...