Myth and Momentum
How an organization thinks about itself is largely a function of senior leadership. Self-concept is critical to success at varying periods of the organization's history. This truth is easily observable in sports. Furthermore, it is commonly observable. One team, the...
I Saw Three Ships
Of all the Christmas carols beloved of millions, one makes absolutely no sense to me at all. It is a folk song, so there is no one to blame, and its staunchest defenders appeal only to its traditional place in the catalogue of Christmas culture. It apparently was...
Facing Institutional Reality
Excerpt from RELAUNCH: HOW TO STAGE AN ORGANIZATIONAL COMEBACK by Dr. Mark Rutland Before Interstate 75 was built, drivers traveling to Florida went right through the middle of Corbin, Kentucky, on Highway 25. Every day hundreds of them stopped at Harland Sanders Café...
Leadership Confusions II: Function or Purpose
When I designed the Mission-Function Vertical Axis, I was seeking for a way to demonstrate visually the connection between the "lowest" function in an organization and the mission that presides at the top. I have been delighted through the last few years to see how...
Leadership Confusions I: Strategy or Tactics
For use in teaching at the National Institute of Christian Leadership, I designed a model called the Mission-Function Vertical Axis. Many NICL attendees have expressed how important that teaching became to them. Here in The Leader's Notebook, I will not give an...