Two bites
According to my wife Kate, this is the most delicious two bites of anything, anywhere, anytime. And, forget Paris, or Barcelona, or New York. This is a short walk from our home in Melbourne.
It’s Movida’s famed anchoa, a Spanish tapas dish which is a hand-filleted Cantabrian anchovy on a crouton with smoked tomato sorbet and capers. For just $5 you get two bites of heaven: it’s crispy and slippery, salty and sour, warm and cold.
We each had one on Saturday night, as part of our meal, and it’s a great instance of a conscious choice: “How can we offer, in a morsel, the best that our chefs can do with superb ingredients?” To do this, Movida pays less attention to other aspects: their interiors are dated but comfortable, their service is effective rather than attentive.
But, they do know which side their bread is buttered or, more accurately, which side of the crouton is sorbeted.
Question: How do you identify — and amplify — the smallest, yet most important, parts of your business?
Societal reframe
The First Fleet landed in Sydney this week (January 26th) 234 years ago and, in my lifetime, that day has always been observed as Australia Day. But, as far back as the centenary of the landing, in 1888, NSW Premier Henry Parkes was asked how Aboriginal people would be involved in celebrations.
His response?
“And remind them that we have robbed them?”
Fast forward to the 2020s and groundswell is building to change this date. One expects Aboriginal organisations to speak out for this (as they have, formally since 1938, the first organised campaign), and socially progressive organisations have also unsurprisingly joined the call (notably, left-leaning local governments who refuse to conduct citizenship ceremonies on this day).
But now, in 2022, we even have News Corp (owned by the Murdochs, and publishers of The Australian and Herald-Sun) campaigning against Australia Day. While 60% of all Australians want the day retained, the majority of under-35s don’t. News Corp is in the business of surfing societal trends, so I’d watch them, not as leaders, but as strong followers in this space.
Question: What societal trends guide your organisation’s decision-makers?
The most powerful strategic question ever
In my strategy work with organisations over more than 20 years, I’ve come to recognise that consultants like me perform four valuable functions:
I know the right questions to ask
I can gain agreement amongst diverse views
I am able to synthesise complex information
I create actionable plans with measurable results
I typically ask my clients 12 critical strategic questions, however, there’s one that is more potent than most in opening up the capacity of boards and senior leaders to contemplate possibilities. It’s this:
“What else is going to happen when [INSERT TREND]”
I ask healthcare providers, “What else is going to happen when your patients’ major illnesses are survivable?” I ask research institutes, “What else is going to happen when the biggest problem in your field is solved?” I ask city designers and town planners, “What else is going to happen when nobody owns a car?” I ask family violence organisations, “What else will happen when everyone who experiences trauma at the hands of someone else speaks up about it?”
You get the picture.
Now, you can easily see that this isn’t a literal conversation. For a start, I’ve asked all the above questions as absolutes (using ‘all’, and ‘everyone’ and ‘nobody’). In reality, these absolutes will never occur, but the thought experiment is still valid, as it helps people imagine possibilities well beyond today’s capabilities.
And, what then should you do with the outcomes of these discussions?
I suggest planting those insights as distal objectives, or intentions. For instance, when I asked an aged care organisation, “What else is going to happen when most people live to 100?” they had this response: “When people live to 100, they will be independent into their 90s and, when they finally reach our residential care, will be quite frail and unwell”. That a-ha moment solidified for them a couple of distal objectives: (a) biasing their care towards in-home offerings; and (b) dramatically heightening their allied health and sub-acute care offerings within residential care.
Question: What are the best “What else will happen . . .” questions that you can ask?
It’s great to be back with you again and, after a good break, I’m coming into 2022 with plenty of fresh ideas, new perspectives and opinions on our ever-evolving world.
Already, I’m advising and assisting leaders of the United Nations, the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Monash University, various arms of government, and some of Australia’s most significant healthcare and aged care providers. Plus plenty of strategic projects with boutique agencies, niche organisations and for-purpose startups.
If you’d like to be among them, get in touch. You can contact my assistant, Vanessa, at ea@workwell.com.au and she'll make a time for us to talk.
Finally, you’re doing me a favour by clicking the heart to say you’ve enjoyed reading this week. Many people write each week letting me know they’re sending onto others (please do!) or using the questions within executive team meetings (again, please do).
Enjoy your weekend, and see you first thing next Friday morning.
Andrew
Welcome back