Julius Caesar described how he handled an unexpected, simultaneous attack by the Nervii, a Celtic-German tribe living in the north of Gaul/Belgium at the time of the Roman empire, at three different points on his flanks, while part of his troops were crossing a river and another part was setting up camp, with the following statement: Omnia uno tempore agenda - “everything had to be done at once.”
Every day now, I hear from executives and managers who are struggling with the endless levels of change that are place in their industry and in their work place. They feel like everything is happening at once and that everything has to be solved at once.
These same leaders also feel like they are constantly working at the edge of chaos. Most days they can barely keep things manageable and under control. More often than not, they also feel very alone.
Bernadine Healy, former Director of the National Institutes of Health, wrote: “Whenever you face a steepening slope of change, that’s when you need bold leadership. When premises are being challenged, that’s when you need wise leadership.”
Right now we need bold and wise leadership to guide us through these difficult times. We also need to be surrounded by people who comprehend the magnitude of the challenges before us and also understand the personal and professional difficulties of being an executive and a leader.
This is where the From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable fits into the puzzle. Twice a year, leaders from a wide variety of organizations come together to explore their challenges, their solutions and the insights of others. It is a place for in-depth listening and sharing, a time to step back from daily operational pressures and to comprehend the large and more strategic implications of all that is happening around us. As previous participants have shared with me, the Roundtable is a place where I can pause, and catch my breath given the pace of change and think.
The next From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable is on September 19 - 20, 2013 at
the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, Coralville, Iowa. Here is the agena for your review:
Thursday: September 19, 2013
8:30 am - Registration
9:00 am - 10:15 am - When Change is the Only Constant
10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break
10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Focusing on Collaboration Rather than Heroics
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm - Lunch and Networking
1:30 pm - 2:45 pm - Building and Maintaining Healthy Work Relationships
2:45 pm - 3:00 pm - Break
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm - Finding the Right Match Between Talent & Outcomes
4:30 pm - Adjourn
Friday: September 20, 2013
9:00 am - 10:15 am - Adapting to Complexity
10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break
10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Integration and Application
12:00 pm - Adjourn
If you would like to sign-up and participate in the Fall 2013 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable, please click on the following link:
Once you have filled out the registration form, you can fax it to me at # 319 - 643 - 2185 or mail it to me.
For those of you who are wanting to read something in advance of the Fall 2013 Roundtable, I suggest the following resources:
- Howe, Geery. Developing a New Organizational Culture - second edition, (From Vision to Action booklet, 2013).
- Katzenbach, by Jon R. and, Ilona Steffen and Caroline Kronley,“Cultural Change That Sticks”, Harvard Business Review, July-August 2012.
- Lafley, A.G., and Roger Martin. Playing To Win: How Strategy Really Works.Harvard Business Review Press, 2013
- Simons, Robert. “Stress-Test Your Strategy: The 7 Questions to Ask,” Harvard Business Review, November 2010.
- Tichy, Noel M., and Warren Bennis. “Making Judgment Calls: The Ultimate Act of Leadership”, Harvard Business Review, October 2007.
Happy reading, and I look forward to seeing in September!
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