San Jose, CA (PRWEB) August 17, 2011 — Michelle Randall, president of the global management consultancy firm Enriching Leadership International, recently addressed the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, China.
Speaking to a group that included senior officers at leading companies and organizations headquartered in Beijing, her topic was How to Integrate Strategy and People for High-Stakes Growth.

Ms. Randall discussed the importance of developing a results-driven strategy centered on clearly defined goals instead of believing what she sees as the mistaken yet pervasive notion that strategy drives results. She emphasized the importance of incorporating execution and accountability into every aspect of strategy development to make implementation more effective.

Ms. Randall also spoke about how companies can profit from seeking outside help for strategy development. “Having an outsider lead the process avoids the dangers of the CEO stifling the diversity of approaches, whether it’s done intentionally or not,” she said. Other benefits discussed included an outsider’s ability to broach taboo topics normally ignored by an organization and the best practices and intellectual property they can bring to the table.
She warned that companies should not shy away from strategy development for cost reasons, stating that the biggest investment any company will make is with time. “With a results-driven strategy process, business leaders can expect a ten times return on their investment,” she said.

Ms. Randall stressed the importance of building a well-balanced team and promoting employees with both skills and spirit to management positions, noting that, “The potential of any company expands directly with the development of its people.”
One staffer who attended said, “The presentation was lively and interactive, with attendees asking questions and engaging in a dialogue with Ms. Randall about their own experiences and challenges they have come up against in their work environment.”
Questions from attendees included how to best keep a company’s vision top of mind and how to push staff to help drive the company forward instead of just going through the motions.

Enriching Leadership International works to accelerate the growth of global organizations. The firm’s clients include top leaders and their teams at Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, Quest and NetApp, members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and notable mid-tier businesses.
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Tips for a Comeback

Don’t go it alone.
When things are toughest, many business leaders isolate themselves. That’s precisely the wrong response, since it’s nearly impossible to be creative in a vacuum, says executive coach Michelle Randall. Talk with coaches, mentors and members of your team. “When things do turn around, the leaders who do this have created a more trusted team than ever before,” says Randall, the principal of Enriching Leadership International, a global management consultancy.

Turn vendors into allies.
Ask for more generous terms and programs while always positioning them as being in the vendors’ best interest—because they are.

Get focused.
“People I’ve seen stage successful comebacks were completely focused on the desired outcome. As a result,” Randall says, “they sought any course of action that would get them there.”
Be flexible. “My clients who have pulled off the most successful comebacks have been relentless in their belief that they could do it. As a result they were flexible in finding opportunities and marshaled the people around them to create extraordinary results.”

Don’t wallow in self-pity.
“People I’ve seen be less successful got mired down in why-me thinking. That victim mentality wasted time and energy and made them overly apologetic with vendors, customers and employees instead of acting like peers.”

Remember, Randall says: “Every real business has been through plenty of crises. It’s what they do when that happens that defines them.”

Read the entire section on American Comebacks

IBM is a global leader that has soared to great heights and grappled with doomed prospects. As the company celebrated the rare feat of 100 years in business, it may be the strongest it has ever been.

The following are three things that every company can learn from IBM to contribute to their own success.

• Create a Freak Show
• Cultivate Frustration
• Commit and recommit and recommit

Click here to read the entire article at Fast Company.

Michelle Randall, Business Coach, shines a bright light on the 8 Blindspots That Torpedo Business Leaders. She is offering your organization a 45-90 minute talk so that your members can grow their awareness and take measures that will move them to safer waters in achieving their business goals.

Join us for this webinar on Thursday, February 11th from 9:00am – 10:00am PST

Click here to register