Scott Coutts

This article in the Harvard Business Review and another from May-June 2022 titled ‘𝒟𝓮𝓈𝒾𝓰𝓃𝒾𝓃𝓰 𝒲𝓸𝓇𝓀 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒫𝓮𝓸𝓅𝓁𝓮 𝓛𝓸𝓋𝓮’ converged multiple insights for me that I have seen many of the organizations I have worked with do and also some that they missed along the journey of scaling up, which are increasingly becoming more important post COVID. A true 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮 + 𝓦𝓸𝓻𝓴 𝓞𝓻𝓰𝓪𝓷𝓲𝔃𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 sees 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 rather than merely one of many. It 💡focuses on both career and personal goals of employees 💡enables constant learning that is intrinsic to an employee’s growth and not only to immediately accrue value for the organization 💡reinforces the value of an employee both before and after they are part of the organization Hence, these organizations believe in: 🌟𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝑶𝒏𝒆 and avoid tools that standardise and instead organize around teams. I loved the concept - “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 ‘𝘐’ 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 ‘𝘐’. 🌟 𝑰𝒏 𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝑾𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒘 - Discards rituals that erode trust, reinvents performance management and focuses on weekly check-ins with the line manager that discuss key priorities, what worked and what didn’t in the week. I learnt from the research in these articles that even if 20-25% of what you do every day is what you love, you are far more likely to be resilient and engaged. I loved it even more that as part of our engagement activities for this year, we launched ‘𝓐𝓘 𝓐𝓯𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓷𝓸𝓸𝓷𝓼’ for our Hindustan Unilever Ltd South Asia HR team to get people to start thinking of fun ways to be more productive and focus their time on what they loved doing as part of their job. The two tools we discussed so far were Copilot (led by Mahima Sharma and Divya Gautam) and Adobe Firefly (led by Naayl H.). So the next time you want to change brain chemistry at work to release the same chemicals that are released when you are engaged in an activity that you love, ask yourself or your team how the answer to the following questions can be a consistent YES! ❤️ Was I/Were you excited to work every day last week? ❤️ Did I/ Did you have a chance to use my/your strengths most of the time in the day? ❤️ At work do I/ do you get a chance to do what I love and am good at at least 20-25% of the time? #FutureOfWork #EmployeeEngagement #Culture #LoveWhatYouDo #BeatBurnout #Resilience #GenAI #HBR #BeTheChange Accenture | McKinsey & Company | Disney Star

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#OKRs and Watermelon: I love both…but not in the same setting! 🍉🍉🍉 Ever come across an objective that appears green on the surface but hides red beneath? That’s the watermelon meaning here — where things seem on track until you dig deeper. So, how can we flip the script? It starts with 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. Ambitious goals are great, but without a solid action plan, they remain just that—goals. After all, “𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹.” The magic of OKRs lies not just in setting objectives but in maintaining a disciplined routine to achieve them. If OKRs aren't hitting the mark, it's worth asking: 🔍 How can we better align our efforts with our goals? What does this reveal about our company’s culture? OKRs are a reflection of how we approach strategy and execution. Let’s foster a culture where goals are vibrant from the inside out, leading to real success. 💡 #leadership #OKRs #strategy #culture #execution #businessgrowth

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𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙌𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧: 𝙀𝙢𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙩𝙝 🌟 🔍 Reflect, Realign, Reimagine: As 2024 draws to a close, let's not rush through these crucial last months. Instead, why not use this time to reflect on our journeys and set impactful goals for 2025? This isn’t just about wrapping things up but about paving the way for future success and innovation. 💡 Strategic Planning: What lessons have we learned this year? How can we apply these insights to enhance our strategies? At Felix Impex Pvt Ltd, we believe in turning reflection into action. We take this time to assess our processes, ensuring that we continue to deliver only the highest quality footwear solutions that our clients trust and love. 🌱 Growth and Development: Let's think beyond the immediate. What are our long-term aspirations? How can we align our daily operations with our broader values and visions? Every discussion, every plan we make is geared towards not just meeting but exceeding the expectations of those we serve. 🚀 Looking Ahead: It's never too late to pivot or to dream bigger. Let's embrace this last quarter not just as an ending but as a beautiful beginning. Here’s to stepping into the new year armed with clarity and purpose, ready to take on new challenges and opportunities. Join us at Felix Impex Pvt Ltd as we commit to not just maintaining standards but setting new ones. Let's make 2025 a landmark year together. Interested in learning how we can help your business reach new heights? DM us today! #FelixImpex #QualityAssurance #FootwearInnovation #StrategicPlanning #SustainableFashion #EndOfYearReflection

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Struggling to achieve your goals or ambitions? Frustrated by the feedback you receive from co-workers, senior leadership, investors or customers? Your personal and professional growth and future successes are driven by how you accept and interpret feedback from peers, management, customers and investors. You can decide to ignore feedback that challenges you or you can decide to understand the feedback you have received and seek support from resources around you to improve, grow and succeed. How will you proceed? #leadership #personaldevelopment #growth #colleagues #customers

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Sunday Book Review #14 How to be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question || Michael Schur This is a very funny book on a very serious subject – what’s right and wrong, ethics, morals, philosophy and in general how to be a good human being. Its written in a casual easy to read style, self-deprecating at places, the generous sprinkling of footnotes are witty and fun and covers various schools of ethics -utilitarianism, Kant’s ethics of duty, Aristotle’s virtue ethics and Sartre’s existentialism. A central thread of the book is that being good is hard and that we fail at it all the time. In conclusion – Scur infers that the higher our social and economic status, the higher the ethical standards to which we should adhere. "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better" This book is a bit like if Michael Sandel wrote a sitcom version of his lectures! Enjoyable read on a topic that isn't easy to write or read about! Alternate titles for the book could be: How to be a better human being? How to be less annoying to people around you? How to sound intelligent at parties?

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3 subjects I need to master: How to think (clearly) How to decide (wisely) How to adapt (smartly) Guessing that’s what I need to teach my kids as well. 🤗

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Massive audience for the AFMA symposium today. I had a blast with this talk and I could feel the energy of the room. The objective of AFMA was innovate for success in disruptive times. And that was the starting point of my talk. Ok, I think it is clear: we live in disruptive times. We always spend hours explaining the disruptive times but very few time on how we should react! Truth is, everybody always use the same approach and this is the clockwork universe paradigm: determinism, reductionism, causality, stability. And yet, year after year, we attend meetings where we hear always the same problems, always the same solutions developed using always the same tools and ways… and eventually leading to marginal and incremental improvements. It is time to question the approach. The problems of our industry are not clock work any longer. They are not! With all the new (pressing and legitimate) considerations around sustainability, consumers’ choices, etc., these problems became networks of patterns, and with the help of multiple feedback mechanisms, non linearity reigns now. If we want to move forward, we need to alter our mental models. Again: scientific agility is required. Complicated solutions for complicated problems. And process works very well to get to these solutions. Clockwork universe is then key. Complex solutions for complex problems. And for that, then come visit us at Nutreco! An immense thank you to Westside and Trouw Nutrition Africa ! Trouw Nutrition Nutreco Skretting #TrouwNutrition #Skretting #NutrecoExploration #NutEx #PhytoComplex #Complexity #GardenoftheFuture #Nutreco #PlantGenius #AFMAsymposium

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🌟 Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast 🌟. In the business world, both strategy and culture are crucial, but culture often holds the upper hand. This image perfectly illustrates the concept that culture has the power to devour strategy if not aligned properly. 🔹 Strategy: It's essential for setting direction and goals, but it’s the smaller fish in this scenario. 📊 🔹 Culture: The larger fish, representing the collective behaviors, values, and practices of an organization, can either propel or hinder the strategy. 🌟 Why Culture Matters: 1️⃣ Drives Engagement: A positive culture fosters employee engagement, leading to higher productivity and satisfaction. 😊 2️⃣ Facilitates Change: An adaptable culture can seamlessly incorporate strategic shifts, ensuring smoother transitions. 🔄 3️⃣ Strengthens Identity: A strong culture builds a unified identity and sense of belonging among employees. 🤝 Takeaway: While developing strategies, prioritize building a robust and positive culture. The right culture will support and enhance your strategies, leading to sustainable success. 🌟 #Leadership #Culture #Strategy #BusinessGrowth #Teamwork #Success #Inspiration #ProfessionalDevelopment

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📚 Recommendation #22: "The Master" by Christopher Clarey Few athletes have captured the world’s imagination like Roger Federer. In “The Master”, Christopher Clarey dives deep into Federer’s illustrious career, highlighting the moments and decisions that shaped him into one of the greatest tennis players ever. Clarey meticulously charts Federer’s journey, blending his personal life with professional triumphs. The book captures key moments of his career—the rivalries, triumphs, and challenges that made Federer a global icon. Clarey’s access to Federer’s inner circle provides valuable insights. For anyone seeking inspiration, this book offers more than just tennis—it’s a lesson in discipline, consistency, and grace under pressure. It’s not just for fans of tennis, but for anyone fascinated by the dedication it takes to reach the pinnacle of success. 🌟 My rating: 4.30/5 - A solid read for fans and followers of Federer, though his autobiography (hopefully, he does write one in the future) would be the ultimate story. #BookRecommendations #RogerFederer #TennisGreats #Inspiration

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Ever felt like you're spinning your wheels at work, pushing hard but not getting anywhere? You're not alone. In a fast-paced world where demands are constantly evolving, mastering the art of strategic thinking is no longer just a nice-to-have attribute —it's essential. Here are 6 simple but powerful game changing steps on how you can unlock your Strategic Edge: 1️. Focus on Outcomes, Not Process When communicating with seniors, focus on the results you’ve achieved. Leaders care about the impact, not the nitty-gritty details. Keep the conversation outcome-driven to align your work with organizational goals. 2️. Build Your Strategic Ladder Develop a solid foundation of skills that enable you to see the bigger picture. This strategic perspective will make you versatile, allowing you to adapt and excel across different industries and roles. 3️. Understand the Bigger Picture Know your company’s vision and strategy inside out. This understanding helps you align your efforts with broader goals, positioning yourself as a key player in driving the organization forward. 4️. Align Your Function with Company Goals Ensure that your department’s objectives are synced with the company’s vision. Misalignment can lead to wasted efforts. Stay focused on what truly matters to maximize your impact. 5️. Engage Stakeholders Through Networking Build strong, strategic relationships across the organization. Networking smartly will help you gain support for your initiatives, ensuring your projects get the backing they need. 6️. Communicate with Headlines When speaking to senior leaders, start with the most crucial information. Highlight key achievements and progress first—grab attention and create opportunities for deeper discussions. Success in strategy isn’t just about having a plan—it’s about delivering results that matter. How are you implementing these strategies in your work? Share your insights, and let’s elevate our strategic thinking together! #Leadership #Strategy #CareerGrowth #Networking #Communication #ProfessionalDevelopment #Impact

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The differences in language for labeling men and women has long been discussed. This HBR article detailing the research of assessing the language used in over 80k military performance appraisals really puts it into black and white. There’s not even one overlapping descriptor. It certainly demonstrates just how engrained biases are in our social make up and how bringing it to our consciousness is so important for work, schooling and for society.

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🚨 Transformation Fatigue is Real – Here’s Why Embracing Continuous Change is the Only Way Forward 🚨 My clients often ask me to limit the scope of transformation because they're either lacking the resources to support it or are dealing with fatigue from previous initiatives—and in many cases, it’s a combination of both! Organizations everywhere are feeling the weight of transformation fatigue. The constant push for digital innovation, process improvements, cultural shifts, and restructuring has led many to a breaking point. People are overwhelmed, morale is low, and the pace of change can feel relentless. But here’s the reality we need to face: Transformation fatigue is not a passing phase; it's a symptom of something much deeper. 🔑 Why it’s happening: The speed of technological advances is unprecedented. Market demands are shifting faster than ever. Employees are juggling more, with fewer resources. And the pressure to stay competitive is higher than ever. So, what’s the solution? In today’s world, we cannot afford to wait for change to slow down. The old approach of initiating change, waiting for it to “settle,” and then moving on to the next project is no longer sustainable. Continuous change has become the new norm. 💡 The key to overcoming transformation fatigue is shifting the mindset: Embed change into the DNA of your organization. 1. Instead of seeing change as a “one-time” event, position it as a perpetual journey. Adaptability should be part of your culture. Prioritize people, not just processes. 2. Your people are the ones carrying the weight of transformation. Invest in training, mental health support, and regular feedback loops. Make small, sustainable changes. 3. Big transformations are daunting. Focus on incremental improvements that drive momentum without overwhelming your teams. Empower your teams to lead change. 4. Change needs champions at every level. Foster a sense of ownership, so employees feel connected to the organization’s transformation. Celebrate progress, not perfection. 5. Continuous change is about progress, not flawless execution. Recognize and celebrate the wins, no matter how small. At the end of the day, transformation fatigue is a sign that the old ways of doing business no longer apply. To thrive in today’s world, embracing a mindset of continuous change is not just an option—it’s a necessity. (I leveraged AI to refine this message.) #Transformation #Leadership #ContinuousChange #ChangeManagement #CultureShift #Innovation #Agility #OrganizationalDevelopment

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Great reading / reminder from Shane Parrish on Bezos’ decision-making heuristics… • Some decisions are irreversible (one way doors) and must be made carefully, with great deliberation (type-1 decisions). But most decisions are reversible (two-way doors), and can and should be made quickly. • Reversible decisions are not an excuse to act reckless, but a belief that we should adapt our decisions frameworks to decisions types. Reversible decisions don’t need to be made the same way as irreversible decisions. • Decisions provide us with data, which can then make our future decisions better “A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week” - General George Patton #NutritionForMind https://lnkd.in/gwFa2WX8

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Why you should consider sharing your knowledge or expertise The Power of Sharing Knowledge: Lessons from a Laser Gun Fight While playing a laser gun fight with my son recently, I had an unexpected realization—it’s a perfect metaphor for sharing knowledge and professional growth. In the game, just like in the workplace, sharing what you know with others can lead to three powerful outcomes: 1- When people agree (Strengthens your learning) In the heat of the game, when my son followed my strategy and it worked, it was a clear reinforcement of what I knew. Similarly, when others resonate with your expertise and apply it, your own understanding solidifies. 2- When people build on your thoughts (Broadens your perspective) There were times when my son added his own twist to our strategy, which opened my eyes to new tactics I hadn’t considered. Professionally, when others build on your knowledge, they help you see things from a fresh perspective. 3- When people challenge your views (You gain new insights) Of course, there were moments when my son tried something totally different, challenging my approach. That made me step back and reconsider my plan. The same goes for work—when people challenge your expertise, it forces you to rethink and grow. Whether it’s in play or at work, sharing knowledge is about evolving together and gaining new insights along the way. #Learning #SharingKnowledge #Growth #ParentingLessons #ContinuousImprovement #Hungry #Humble

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I am a firm believer in this. Trust is foundational to effective leadership.

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VUCA and BANI A lot of years we have heard of the VUCA world. Developed in the 1990’s it has defined the corporate strategies since then. The acronym has since become a word and VUCA is used for any situation with uncertainty. V - Volatility. Simply meaning ‘ constant and unpredictable change’. Companies have since then moved from annual to quarterly and then to monthly targets. The cost estimates in many companies are taken 3 times in a month. U - Uncertainty. Long term starategies have gone long away. Strategies are reviewed often. The decision making has more future, which is ever changing, then the present. C - Complex. Nothing is simple, nothing is unidimensional, nothing has a single colour. Every success and failure has many theories and none of them when repeated gives a guarantee of success. A - Ambiguity. The path ahead is not clear. Fog is all around. Everything is Grey or more in many shades of Grey. Every decision is based more on prediction then on facts. That’s VUCA for all of us. Something we know or are conversant with. In 2020 Futurologist Jamis Cascio presented BANI. B - Brittle. The word means ‘disintegrated under pressure’. Policies are based on past experiences and if they are not flexible and agile are bound to break the future in the present. A- Anxiety. Frequent changes bring anxiety if the reason for the change is not known/ acceptable. Open communication with employees and stakeholders is the key to smooth flow of the change without negative connotation. N - Non-Linear. Cause and effect that has shaped a few generations is out of the window. Fixed structures and decisions based on facts are also things of the past. The world is in spirals and a strong feedback system with short loops is what makes today future ready. I - Incomprehensible. Can’t read, defies logic, makes no sense. Successes and failures today often end up like this after a deep analysis. Many changes are not understood as they seem illogical. So companies as a policy should communicate the change in policies and strategies to their employees. The two corporate strategy deciders and they are so similar and so different. Both : Recognise the uncertainty of the future. Both advocate constant change to catch up. Instil fear of the future in the present. But : VUCA is more outward looking. Looking for the change from outside. BANI is looking inwards to recognise the change. VUCA is changing as the world changes. BANI is more about sensing the change and acting swiftly. VUCA is more about understanding the change. BANI is accepting it and moving forward. What is your take on this? #strategy #corporate #decisions #uncertainity #volatility #uncertainity #complexitity #ambiguity #brittle #anxiety #spiral #incomprehensible #vuca #bani

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