Margaret Atwood’s book The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) is an easy to read and beautifully written cautionary dystopian tale of how quickly and easily totalitarianism can destroy the freedom we take for granted.

It is a common perspective amongst leaders that an organizational statement of purpose must be short, memorable and motivating like the world’s greatest marketing slogans or brand tag lines. What these executives are never able to validate is why this is better or more important than a more comprehensive statement that explains and communicates the purpose of the business.

In the right context and when appropriately framed, the identification of failure is one the best way to scout out and identify the possibilities for improvement. To the keen entrepreneurial eye, the failure of others can shine light on potential opportunities.

A technique to improving managerial performance when planning is to take into account the second and third-order consequences and implications of one’s actions across an expanding time period. The farther out one is able to project and consider, the better.