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Showing posts from November, 2021

Use the Heilmeirs for Project Funding

I learnt about the Heilmeirs from Vijay Gill , an ex-SVP at Databricks (now an SVP at RapidAPI). He said that this was the fastest way to focus the discussion around project funding. I've found it to be useful - sharing this with you. The Heilmeirs Project funding is governed by this one-pager process: What are you trying to do? Articulate your objectives using absolutely no jargon. How is it done today, and what are the limits of current practice? What is new in your approach and why do you think it will be successful? Who cares? If you are successful, what difference will it make? What are the risks? How much will it cost? How long will it take? What are the mid-term and final “exams” to check for success?

The Effective Executive

  The Effective executive “An effective executive does not need to be a leader in the sense that the term is now most commonly used. Harry Truman did not have one ounce of charisma, for example, yet he was among the most effective chief executives in U.S. history. Similarly, some of the best business and nonprofit CEOs I’ve worked with over a 65-year consulting career were not stereotypical leaders. They were all over the map in terms of their personalities, attitudes, values, strengths, and weaknesses. They ranged from extroverted to nearly reclusive, from easygoing to controlling, from generous to parsimonious. What made them all effective is that they followed the same eight practices: They asked, ‘What needs to be done?’ They asked, ‘What is right for the enterprise?’ They developed action plans. They took responsibility for decisions. They took responsibility for communicating. They were focused on opportunities rather than problems. They ran productive meetings. They thought and