The Master SLer steps down!  Steve Jobs says his health no longer allows him to fulfill his duties. He is the man who was a role model of:

1. Persistence and learning from mistakes – the Newton – Lisa. The newton turned into I Phone; Lisa turned into the Macintosh;

2. Commitment to values – ease of use and cool design – closed sourcing –

3. Resilience – forced out of Apple, he founded Next computer – returned to Apple and took it to greater heights.

4. Branding and Image - The Black Mock Turtle – The well worn blue jeans - The annual presentation of products we couldn’t do without. — The image, voice and soul of Apple.  A Rock Star

Reflection serves several functions. It can be used on action, in action, and for action. This post examines reflection in action or thinking on our feet in the heat of the battle. Schön’s (1983) ideas on reflecting in action, Simon’s (1987) intuition, Meyers’ (2002) and Gladwell’s (2005)  thin slicing, Klein’s (1998) recognition primed decision-making, Chase & Simon’s (1973) chunking, and Pisapia’s (2010) contrast of blinking and thinking are examples of scholarly and popular work in the area.

I have lectured and established research alliances in many places in this beautiful world spreading the gospel of strategic leadership.  In addition to my natural assignment in the USA, I have taught courses in Macau, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. I also lectured in Shanghai, Turkey, India, Italy, Greece, Paraguay, Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain, South Africa, Northern Ireland, The United Kingdom, Portugal, Netherlands, Columbia, Canada, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. I have established working research alliances with colleagues in many more places than I have visited, such as Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. We work as a team using the strategic leadership instruments and protocols Dan and I developed even though we may never meet each other face to face.

One of the most difficult things to overcome in an organization is complacency. This point was brought home to me on a trip to Argentina.  I was a consultant at an American school in a well to do Buenos Aries neighborhood. The school which served about 2,000 students was framed by the “River of Silver” on one side and the railroad tracks on the other, literally 50 yards from the administrative and classroom buildings.