I first heard this story during the Chick-fil-A Leadercast in May 2012, and find it, again, in the Intentional Leadership booklet we are following, developed by Giant Impact.
It’s the story of Andy Grove, long-time CEO at Intel (by the way, Andy has a fascinating personal story; if you aren’t familiar with it, I encourage you to do a little research on him). There was a point in time when Andy asked these questions:
If a new leader walked into your role today with a fresh perspective and a full mandate to make changes, what strategic shifts would he or she make? What insights would be gained as he or she talked to your customers, employees, suppliers, and consultants?
It’s an interesting exercise and you may be quite surprised at what you come up with — and the freedom you feel when you give yourself permission to step outside your normal mode of operation and look at your world from a different perspective.
As you ask yourself these questions, and imagine the answers, note the responses in your journal.
Then, explore what might be keeping you from making the necessary changes? Would it be actual barriers, self-imposed constraints, or self-limiting beliefs?
What steps do you now need to take to ensure you are really listening to your employees, customers, suppliers, and consultants? How can you maintain that listening posture and incorporate what you hear into your planning.
Choose one change to start with, and move forward.
