Danny Rehr's Blog

Definitions evolve. It is not always because things change. It's how we think that changes - through development, new ideas, innovation and socio-cultural norms. Today's definition of work is more differentiated than ever before. And that's because we think of work in very different ways.  

What I've learned since the release of the Hogwarts Legacy video game has been mesmerizing like the Harry Potter series, but in a different way. The game has scaled that story to become something more.

Respect is an operational framework to put strategy to use, and a tension to be considered for performance and employee development.

Experience your own product or service as one of your customers would or does. You might be surprised with what you learn.

ChatGPT is a remarkable technology. It has the promise to change business as we know it. I assert that ChatGPT or some future technology or standard like it is and will be an everyday business tool. Such a statement glosses over so much that it's more revealing to explain what's missing than what's accomplished.

Business strategy is to the market and the customer what an organization's framework is to the operation and the employee. The framework is the organization's structural alignment to enact its strategy, and express its potential value. That framework may be well designed or it may not be. Why is the link between strategy and frameworks important to the individual employee? Answer: the workplace experience.

Promise and potential oftentimes need external support.  And why not?  Business is about respect, compassion and positive-sum results.  How do you support the ambitions of others to meet promise and potential?

Being managed is a topic with far less exploration than the act of managing others.  It's a healthy beginning to the manager-managed relationship.

Music and business have a lot in common. They’re both art and science. They’re nuanced.  So if Artificial Intelligence can create music without human intervention, then I predict AI will create entire businesses as commodities.  Mine is an example of scenario planning and interdisciplinary thinking that, together with the concept of AI, offer a vision of a changed world.

It had been since October when I last posted. All of a sudden, silence. So what happened?!

A leadership quote I heard describes the topic in such a way that we should ask ourselves this question: How do you make it easier for others to be better around you?

What is a good customer beyond a perpetual, loyal transactor?  What's beyond the transaction?  A choice to become a good customer brings otherwise undiscoverable benefits to everyone involved, including other customers and that business.

"Never should on someone" was told to me about 10 years ago.  It's a reminder to never impose oneself unto another who is uncertain, because imposition or transcendence of one's personal ambition unto another is a violation.

A recap of the past month, and a forecast for what's to come.  Danny Rehr's Blog has existed for just short of 4 months now.  A lot of exciting achievements have been developed.  Learn what's slated for the short-term going forward.    Thank you!

Mapping strategy is depicting complex intentionality.  In this post I explain what is strategy, the differences between planning, intent and strategy; and I discuss the prominence of uniqueness and interconnectedness in strategies.  Of course, as the title suggests, I showcase how to map strategy and provide a few examples.  One is the strategy I use for Danny Rehr's Blog (I've provided a link to my Instagram page to view).

Fitness for ambition is a dynamic pursuit. I define it as what dynamically works for us and against us in the pursuit of ways to make us feel rich and flourish in doing so? Important, what makes each of us feel rich means something different to everyone, and through our fitness for ambition, requires activation.  Activate that fitness for ambition and you'll be poised for a myriad of imaginative, creative and innovative opportunities!

Books recommended:

This episode is the first of its kind - a recap and forecast for what's to come. Danny Rehr's Blog has existed for just short of 3 months now. A lot of exciting achievements have been developed, including 13 posts, a podcast, a YouTube channel, and an Instagram account. What's slated for the short-term going forward will be discussed.  It's also a chance to say thanks.

Failure means you're trying. Maybe it didn't work out; maybe it won't work out. Good faith and effort was or will be there. You'll inevitably learn something along the way.

Employees aren't resources. They're precious resources, and that's why employees are the company.

Systems are strategic entities. People can operate within them for the purpose of facilitating processes and procedures. More fundamentally, people cooperate in teams. It's when we errantly swap the two that we sacrifice the viability of strategy, and the humanity of those who make organizations go.

In the way I've thought about them here, path dependencies make for interesting diagnostic and prescriptive tools. They may also describe scenarios in which culture is either/both a strength or a weakness that must be acknowledged. Operationally, perceiving strategy through the lens of path dependency may result is some creative, cost-effective, and efficient solutions to hard problems.

Of course, not everyone likes in-depth analysis; however, what affects one at work has personal meaning to that individual. My work journal became more than a daily review. It was something altogether different, something more.

Through a top-level understanding of organizational culture we can discover new ways to make sense of the workplace.

Mentorship is an important development method both for the mentee and the mentor. Desired results are growth, path development and high performance. For me, there's a gratification in sharing alongside an urgency to develop myself to meet need.

The employee life cycle overlaps with workforce planning strategy—from recruitment to departure; yes, through until the employee leaves—and plays a crucial part of the promise and potential of an organization’s design - and by derivation its people.

It may logically be said that organization design comes down to a compilation of people, not simply roles.

When working dynamics seem off, we tend to appreciate them in a conjectural manner. I love how Brian J. Robertson puts it: “The human capacity to sense dissonance in the present moment and see the potential for change…” Typically, we identify activities or performance for deficiency, because those are the effects over which someone must have control, right?! (Sadly, we'll even point the finger.)

My personal blog is about making sense of the workplace and improving others' careers. Effectively, I set out to highlight self-leadership.

We think of our purpose as a target to shoot for. That’s only half right. In fact purpose is BOTH the projectile and target, together. For individuals, purpose starts with personal ambition. The way to see purpose through to one’s goal, one can scale-up. Let’s explore what all of this means.

Answer: An MBA is worth it if you never leave the program, figuratively speaking.