Jane Adamson
CEO, Sherpa Advisory
Jane Adamson is committed to leading and developing an organization to achieve superior results. She has the unique ability to view business globally, while focusing employees on the details and teamwork necessary for strategic success. She has been the president of two manufacturing/service organizations, sat on industry and professional boards, orchestrated the successful turnaround of a financially distressed organization, and implemented numerous performance management processes. She founded Sherpa Advisory, located in Phoenix, Arizona, to guide companies through the growth stages that require mid-size companies to “do” all the things that large companies do, but with limited resources. Company survival depends upon its leaders and members learning the skills of providing clear focus, team problem solving, implementing change, and executing for results.
Recent posts by Jane Adamson
8 Ways to Listen to Your Market
Posted on July 6th, 2010
Look OUT, not IN! If you’re following our CEO Challenge articles, speaking or consulting work, you’ve heard this mantra a lot. More often than not, answers to your most important business questions aren’t inside your organization; the answers lie out there with your customers. What problems are they facing? How is your firm REALLY doing at solving those problems? How do they make decisions? What’s the image they have of your firm versus your competitors? How much value do you really bring? How consistent and predictable is your service? Do you know what your customers wish you did better? But how can you gather this research? This action plan provides 8 ways to listen without breaking the bank.
What are you selling? The answers may surprise you.
Posted on June 8th, 2010
Pop quiz! Right now, right after you finish reading this article, go to each member of your leadership team and ask them this question: What are we selling?
Have we entered a New Normal? Hardly.
Posted on May 4th, 2010
I have a bone to pick with the phrase “The New Normal” and how frequently it’s being tossed around these days. Yes, we’re emerging from a disastrous global economic crisis. In the aftermath of a tsunami, it’s tempting to look around and call the new landscape “The New Normal.”
My discomfort derives from the implied assumption that there is a “normal” at all.
You know the saying about assumptions. Why are you still making them?
Posted on March 2nd, 2010
Assumption testing has always been important in organizations. Right now, however, it’s more critical than ever. Markets are evolving so fast that the wrong assumptions can be fatal.
Worse yet, an organization’s inability to routinely identify and test assumptions is a cultural defect that can be very difficult to correct.
Rick and I often see this problem when we participate in leadership meetings held by our clients. During these meetings, we frequently hear executives mistakenly state assumptions as if they were facts.
