Are you suffering from the outsider complex, a chronic complaint of HR and other staff functions, such as IT, Finance or Marketing? Perhaps you are technically proficient, but relegated to a second-tier status in your business. You aim to be a business partner, but operate on the fringes of the business, marching in lock-step with those in power. So, what’s the magical ingredient that makes someone a trusted insider? And what can you do to transform your role?

Insiders think and work differently from the rest of the organization. Insiders initiate, and insiders follow-through without being ordered. Insiders extend their role beyond widely accepted boundaries. Insiders ask themselves some very basic questions: what can I do, or what can my function do, to make a significant impact on business performance? Continue reading…

Visionary leaders recognize the importance of investing for the future. They balance short-term results with actions that ensure future success. These leaders realize that a myopic focus on the immediate future will only lead so far. A longer time horizon is needed to achieve more than just immediate gains. 

Thomas Jefferson (Louisiana Purchase), Walter Wriston (Citibank’s Consumer Bank strategy), Vince Lombardi (player development), Maggie Thatcher (privatization of British Petroleum) – to name just four leaders from different eras – all initiated major investments for the future. Imagine the world if these individuals and others like them had chosen to pursue more short-term oriented paths. Continue reading…