FrontierWorks

Introduction

As many of you know, I have spent my career working with clients to achieve ambitious results. Seven years ago I suffered a freak injury to my spinal cord that has paralyzed the lower half of my body. I have drawn on many experiences to help create "Glenn 2.0" including my support systems and my belief in possibilities.   
 
Many of you have encouraged me to share some of my experiences.  Pushing the Edge is my way of sharing interesting insights and experience on leadership and innovation. These thoughts are intended to provoke your thinking about "what's possible".    
 
Over the next several months I will be experimenting with the e-mailing, and I welcome your feedback.  
 
If you can't imagine what's possible,

 

Consider the following example. 
 
A team has just concluded a meeting about how they were going to achieve a near term goal.  Each team member had an opinion on how to move forward, and there was a heated debate. Several didn't agree with some of the proposals. A decision was made. All the members of the team got behind the decision even if they previously disagreed with that course of action.
 
How can passionate team members drop their disagreement and align behind a decision? It happens all the time.
 
In this case the team's business is football.  Every play is a debate, decision and alignment process that takes place in 45 seconds.  It's third down and four yards to a first down. The on-field team huddles together.  The wide receiver says, "Throw me the ball across the middle."  The running back says, "Give me the ball.  I'll run off tackle."  The play is called as an end run. The team breaks huddle.  The players on the field all know what they have to do to execute the play.  Each player is expected to "own" the play and execute with excellence. This play is successful, but not every play yields the intended results. Yet, each player must own the decisions of the huddle if the team is to have any chance of winning the game.