Leaders often discuss the "Need" for better Solutions and Innovations for their Organizations.
Yet, Leaders usually Fail at Truly Accomplishing this.
Even at most of the most "Successful" Organizations, this is Not Accomplished.
If you look at the Track Record of most Companies, you'll Discover a simple Truth.
Most Leaders have a Single Major Accomplishment, and then they Rest on the Reality that most Competitors play "Their" Game.
These Leaders Rarely have any New Solutions or Innovations after that.
A Few companies have a Second Idea of Course, as Apple had the iPod and then the iPhone.
But what has Apple made that was "Truly" Innovative since?
Nothing.
Most of Apple's "Improvements" are about 5 years behind more Innovative Competitors these days.
But because their Competitors play "Their" Game, it gives Apple enough time to copy the Ideas and maintain the Market based on Category King/Queen Economics.
What About Google?
Nothing Innovative Since Google Images.
They Bought YouTube, but that isn't "Their" Credit.
Or how about Facebook?
Nothing Innovative since... Facebook.
They Bought Instagram and have been Downhill Since.
Most of the Organizations we See Regularly have done Nothing Innovative in a "Long" Time, which is Why they were "All" Threatened by OpenAI's Innovation on AI.
(Even if it is "Questionable" whether the Hype will be Realized)
So, if we look at Leadership, we have to Ask...
Why do so many Leaders, even at extremely Successful Companies, Fail to Improve their Thinking?
It is Important for Leaders to Improve their Thinking so that they can get Better Solutions and Better Innovations because you can only Rest on your Laurels for so Long.
But what is Standing in Leaders' Ways?
What Causes them to make Completely Moronic Decisions, making people call them "Dinosaurs" as Amazon's CEO Jassy was Recently Called, and Fail to Innovate "Anything" of Note?
Well, there are a Few Reasons.
The first is that most Humans do Not Think about Thinking.
I know that sounds Strange, but most of us simply "Think" without ever questioning our Thoughts.
Even when people "Have" done the work of this, they rarely Maintain the Practice.
Ideally, we should Think about our Thinking "Daily", but I've found Leaders Rarely do it Yearly, especially at the Highest of Levels.
Some get Coaches, and they begin to do it Monthly, Bi-Weekly, or if they are Wise, Weekly.
Yet, that alone still isn't Enough.
What often happens is that we begin to build Unseen Biases, Patterns of Problem-Solving, and Habits that Undermine our Success.
Usually, these have Purposes in the Short-Term, but become "Extremely" Problematic in the Long-Term.
So, by not Regularly Thinking about Thinking, Leaders often begin plans that set themselves in a bad direction.
Once they "Do" Think about their Thinking ("If" they do), they have to Course-Correct...
Except...
Because they have gaps that are too long between instances of Thinking about Thinking, their Course-Corrections don't happen fast enough.
Think of it like being in the Ocean, but you only look at the Stars to Navigate once a Week.
How Quickly do you think you'll get to your Destination?
You Will Never Get There.
The Waves and Currents continuously Change your Course without you Realizing It.
You Float in Circles until the Eventual Doom takes Over.
This is "Exactly" what happens when you Fail to Think about Thinking.
However, it actually gets worse because, even "If" Leaders "Do" Think about Thinking Every Day, there are Other Reasons they Regularly Fail to Improve their Thinking.
The Next Problem is that most Leaders Fail to Initiate Group Thinking.
This ends up Playing Out in a Couple of Ways.
There is the "Savior Complex" Leader where they Believe "They" are the Reason for the Organization's Success.
There is the "I Must Solve The Problems" or "It's Solely My Responsibility" Type of Leader.
Or the "I Can't Trust Others to Solve Problems" Leader.
Regardless of how it plays out, the Problem is that Leaders often Fail to Improve their Thinking because they are "Limited" by their Own Thinking.
The Easiest Way to Improve Our Thinking is to Understand How Others Think.
But Leaders Frequently Fail to Understand Others.
They Fail to Understand Other Leaders in their Organization.
They Fail to Understand their Employees.
They Fail to Understand their Customers.
They Fail to Understand their Suppliers.
The Fewer Perspectives we Understand, the Worse Our Thinking will be.
When it is "Only" Our Perspective as a Leader, we will Inevitably Fail.
When we Fail to "Hear" Other Perspectives, we will Inevitably Fail.
This goes Further though because it is Not "Only" about the Number of Perspectives.
Frequently, we see Leadership Teams Completely Fail at Thinking.
How can these Leadership Teams Fail when they Challenge Each Other's Thinking and Have Multiple Perspectives?
Well, these Leadership Teams often have a Problem with Diversity of Perspectives.
As a Great Example, let's look at the Failed RTO "Mandates".
I've written many Articles around this, the Reality of the Research around these Mandates, and how Leaders have made Extremely Foolish Decisions around these Mandates based on the Psychophysiological Reality they are Currently In.
An Aspect I haven't talked a lot about is Diversity.
Have you Noticed that, in Nearly "All" of these Organizations, you have an Older White Male CEO surrounded, mostly, by Older White Male Leadership Team?
Even with a "More" Diverse Team like Google, led by Sundar Pichai, the Leadership Team is Not "Diverse".
8/9 Are White (Sundar being the Exception).
8/9 Are Over 50.
At least they have a close split which Sex, with 5/9 being Male.
But Overall, they Still have a "Very" Narrow Level of Diversity.
This is from a "More" Diverse Team.
This Un-Diverse Perspective at Organizations helps Explain "Why" so many Leaders have it Completely Wrong with their Mandates.
They Fail to take into account Perspectives like Caregivers, Mothers, Minorities, Low-Income Employees, Digital Natives (who are beginning to Dominate the Workforce), and the Youth.
All of these Groups have Voiced their Correct Thoughts on Why these Mandates Make No Sense.
In fact, Diversity has "Greatly" Diminished in the Organizations that have Enacted Mandates because of these Failures to Understand Differing Perspectives.
Overwhelmingly, these Mandates have "Only" Benefited One Group - Older White Men.
This will "Only" make things "Worse" for these Organizations when they make the Horrible Decision to "Only" Promote those Who Adhere to these Mandates - aka Older White Men.
Ironically, as many of these Organizations talk about "Progress" with AI, they are becoming Archaic with their Business Structures.
However, there is One More Problem, perhaps the Largest Problem of All, that is Preventing Leaders from Improving their Thinking.
It even helps Explain "Why" these Leaders are Reverting to Archaic Decisions like Forcing Employees into the Office.
Energy.
Specifically Mg-ATP, or what our Human Bodies use for Energy.
When our Energy (Mg-ATP) is Low, our Thinking becomes "Extremely" Diminished.
How Low is Energy for Leaders?
Well, if we look at the Burnout Problem, we Know that 80% of People are "Currently" Experiencing It, with More on the Way.
In Burnout, People have been Failing to Produce enough Energy (Mg-ATP) for Basic Functions, For So Long, that their Body Begins to Tear Itself Apart.
Burnout is the Point where the Body has Stripped Itself so badly that our Bodies Begins to Give Up.
That is where Most Leaders Are.
It becomes More Problematic because Burnout can be "Passed" Along to others in Toxic Workplaces, as is the Norm today.
This means that, even if a Leader "Isn't" in Burnout, they are Surrounded by people in Burnout who are Pushing them Closer to Burnout.
All of this Negatively Impacts Thinking, because High-Level Thinking "Requires" High-Level Energy (Mg-ATP).
When we are in Burnout, and Surrounded by Burnout, Quality Thinking becomes, literally, Impossible.
Why?
Our Best Thinking can "Only" Occur in Flow States.
But we are Blocked from Flow States when we are in Burnout.
When we Fail to get into Regular Flow States (Ideally Multiple Times Per Day), we Revert to our Lowest Level of Thinking, which as I've already Laid Out, Creates Poor Results.
We Revert to Past Habits, Biases, and Thinking.
We Revert to Past Decisions that are No Longer Valid in Today's World.
We Revert to What "Worked" in the Past Without Recognizing the Flaws that Inherently Existed that We Were Blind To.
This is Why I Frequently talk about Regenerative Legacy Design.
It is the Solution to the Burnout Problem and Opens Up Paths to better Thinking by Solving "All" of the Problems laid out here.
Organizations Rise and Fall on Their Quality of Thinking.
The Future will be Determined by Leadership Teams who have the Highest Quality Thinking.