Love Clear Thoughts, Volume 1?
This is the second collection of the globally popular Clear Thoughts newsletter by Ann Latham featuring concise, powerful, pragmatic business advice. There are 33 articles to shift your thinking and help you get better results in half the time.
The Clarity Papers is truly a ‘guide to clear thinking’ – such a valuable read. One of those books you want to carry with you daily because there is an answer on how to approach any challenge and a lesson to be learned from every venture. Everything you can do to establish clarity in your personal and professional life, and even for those around you. Have to mention how excited I am that Ann’s new book is coming out soon.
Take it from this CEO: A must-read!
If you’re looking for a book that will truly help guide your organization to achieve results, you’ve found it. I’m in my 60’s, have operated and led a mid-sized, family-owned business-to-institutional (B to I) customer distribution company for over 30 years, and if there’s any book I wish I could have read 30 years ago (and I’ve read many over all those years), it is Ann Latham’s The Clarity Papers. I was perhaps only a dozen or so pages into reading it when I realized I had something completely new and different in my hands, something refreshing, stimulating and inspiring. Latham pulls up the shades, lets the light in, and allows one to see all the ways so many organizations go astray or make their paths so much harder than necessary to accomplish what they and their people want. For a “business book,” it’s a real page-turner, chockful of fresh insights, examples of missteps in which most people will recognize themselves, and guideposts to embrace and follow for better outcomes. It is loaded with specific advice and tools for improving productivity, decision making, confidence, strategic alignment, and more.
True to form, Latham’s writing is crystal clear, concise, easy to grasp. Still, I found, and expect most will as well, that I wanted to go back and read it through again to ensure I was fully absorbing the lessons I learned. Upon finishing, I bought copies for all our managers and asked them to write down a few things that they found particularly helpful and actionable, which we then discussed. To a person, everyone’s eyes and minds were opened wide. They saw themselves and their colleagues and recognized how our company’s challenges could be better tackled by applying Latham’s clarity principles. Her words immediately became part of the discourse and vernacular in our office, and some wished they could put Latham on their speed dial! It’s an exciting moment for our company, and we’re committed to bringing the book alive in our organization. Time will tell what we can achieve, but in no time at all, we can already see a difference. To Ann Latham, we offer our heartfelt gratitude. Thank you!
Actionable advice, well organised, dip in and out-able, with game-changing ideas!
A great resource for managers, leaders and individuals. I particularly love the Choose, Start, Focus, Finish model.
Latham’s Treadmill Verbs has changed the way I look at all my communication – I can’t go back to my old sloppily communicated meeting agendas nor emails. I am clear that all my communications – with clients, or staff – must have a destination. Just this one mindset change has massively impacted my business.
I have had my copy for about a week and it already has several dog-ears. In fact, I have quoted some of it in meetings and conversations. Ann has written a clear and concise primer for achieving clarity in the workplace and I am thankful that she has.
Cut to the chase with The Clarity Papers
Every executive or business owner should get this book. Ann Latham has put together a great collection of essential focus points for creating a great strategy. Too often business owners get distracted and overwhelmed by activity. Ann helps guide the reader to strategically focused actions with key focus questions and advice that is incisive and reduces distractions.
As Ann says “A strong strategy can put you on the moon—planning will get you across town.” Her no-nonsense approach is refreshing and easy to read. The Clarity Papers is a practical guide that you can start using immediately for your next strategy sessions. She offers support with her website and videos that round out the whole learning experience.
I loved it. Read it and share it with your team.
Congratulations Ann Latham! The Clarity Papers is a must read for its game-changing approaches to common dysfunction.
If you only read one book to help you get unstuck, Clarity Papers is it!
If you are like me, a voracious consumer of materials on how to make your organization and team better, in addition to all of the books and blog posts you actually read, you probably have stacks of unread or half-read books and hundreds of flagged articles to ‘go back and review when I have time’. I have great news! Clarity Papers is literally THE ONLY BOOK YOU NEED TO PICK UP RIGHT NOW! It will change the course of your organization. It will help YOU be the leader you need to be to get your team unstuck. So stop reading reviews and start reading this incredibly clear and insightful book:)
Ann Latham’s work is like a laser beam for the brain. She helps the reader, and her clients, avoid the multiple traps that muddy the waters, waste time and lead to poor decisions. Her concept of treadmill verbs is brilliant because anyone can see how often we use them and the tremendous cost of doing so. Leaders who settle for vague language full of stock phrases and bromides can expect lackluster results. Before a leader rushes to communicate, they should read Ann’s book.
Compelling, immediately useful – this book holds the key to simplifying complex situations, eliciting clear ideas from your team, and reaching consensus around smart decisions.
Like the Physician’s Desk Reference – except for executives… or those wanting to become executives. Read it for insight (like creating a high-performance culture) or scan it and keep at your fingertips for when you’re stuck (like gaining alignment on a messy decision). It’s part inspiration, part insight, part handbook, and completely usable every day.
I wish reading “The Clarity Papers” was a pre-requisite to becoming a “boss”!
Don’t be fooled by a simple cover. This book is full of clear, concise advice on how to approach any (business) problem and task. It won’t explain the meaning of EBITDA or other intimidating terms, instead, it will teach you to ask the right questions, show what really needs attention, and in general lead you to clarity.
It’s a business book, but I use Ann’s advice in my daily life, regardless of the context. It’s the mindset of clarity 🙂
Thank you, Ann!
Fearlessly undermines conventional wisdom to show you how to make better decisions, motivate your people, and find your way in competitive markets.
Ann Latham is one of the clearest writers you’ll find on practical problem-solving, decision-making and planning to get better results more quickly. I’ve been reading Ann’s column on Forbes for years and it’s great to see her thinking systematised in a convenient handbook. If you’ve got a management issue that’s slowing you down, you’ll quickly find usable answers here.
One of Ann’s most powerful ideas is that lean thinking, while it has be applied so powerfully to physical process improvement, is almost totally neglected when it comes to thinking and communication.
Her discussion of what she calls Treadmill verbs – if taken to heart – is particularly useful. Treadmill verbs are words such as discuss, report, communicate, and review – words that describe processes without a clear end point. They lead to a lot of wasted time. A simple example: If you are invited to a meeting to ‘discuss’ something, how will you know when you are done? We’ve all had our time wasted sitting in such meetings – no-one knew when they were finished so they just kept yapping until the hour was up. If, in contrast, you call a meeting to ‘decide’ something (‘decide’ is what Ann terms a destination verb) then you can tell when the work is done and whether the meeting actually led to progress.
This sort of simple but neglected distinction make a big difference, and Ann’s clear guide is a great investment for leaders at all levels.
Great guidance to everyday activities as a manager. From planning, meetings, issue handling to… Clarity!
If you want to learn how to improve the effectiveness and productivity of your organization or team, Ann Latham lays out the answers you’ll need in The Clarity Papers. The book’s actionable strategies for bringing clarity to a company’s purpose, processes and roles provide a no-nonsense platform that will help executives and employees better connect to strategy and focus on generating tangible outcomes.
The Clarity Papers is an incredible source of value for anyone running a business. It provides clear and ultra practical methods and tools to help anyone understand situations better and be better prepared. It’s one of the very few books that I’ll read multiple times to really benefit from all of Ann’s valuable experiences. I even recommended everyone in my company to read it!
This book is a gift to executives who understand—or want to understand—the value of having clarity in their business lives. Ann Latham shows us how to apply clarity in 10 important business areas, providing straightforward and actionable advice each step of the way. The Clarity Papers is a blueprint not only for competitive differentiation, but broader business success. Very highly recommended!
Clarity – of purpose, of role and of process – is a vital ingredient of success. But it isn’t the natural state; there’s a constant entropic drift to confusion, diffusion and dilution. Maintaining clarity is a constant battle, and what this book offers is an invaluable set of checklists and principles to refer to often to enable you to do just that.
Latham’s The Clarity Papers is a Bible for leaders. There is an astounding amount of wisdom packed between the covers, and every reading teaches a new lesson. My copy of the book was quickly dog-eared with sections to share and review. One way to use Latham’s text is to randomly choose a page each morning and read two paragraphs: I promise it will be inspirational. Of all the leadership books on our shelves, this is one you will keep and reference for years.
Ann Latham’s “The Clarity Papers” has immediate impact and provides much-needed insight to executive-level thinking so necessary at all organizational levels of every company size! Still keep her “Treadmill Verbs” on a sticky note by my computer to guide ALL my meeting agendas. Hour-long meetings reduced to ten to fifteen minutes with greater impact and clear, actionable outcomes. While that lesson alone is a phenomenal return-on-investment, constantly re-read and shared the insights from her book not only with my fellow c-suite team but with everyone in our company because the lessons apply to all. It is a portable consultant – well worn with tattered corners!
Ann Latham is a genuine expert in creating clarity — and this book clearly proves it! The Clarity Papers is a collection that is sure to drive Uncommon Clarity — the kind of clarity that helps executives, employees, and entire organizations deliver better results in less time. Ann has written an incredibly well-crafted, thoughtful, and easy-to-apply handbook, one which convincingly challenges common wisdom about how to make decisions and get things done. It is a must-read for any executive looking to improve productivity, accountability, and organizational performance.
In my work helping small businesses create more positive, productive, and profitable work environments, I come across a lack of clarity in virtually every situation. This lack of clarity causes conflict and confusion among employees and those charged with creating company success. This book provides a wealth of resources to create clarity in virtually every business context and situation. Ann Latham provides frameworks to apply to create greater clarity across all levels of an organization with specific language to use and questions to ask to get there.
Clarity is power, and a lack of clarity is weakness. Both impact the people in your organization you need most. Get this book and use it as your business management manual for strategic and operational excellence to make your company more positive, more productive and even more profitable.
Game changing tools that are amazingly accessible!
Ann’s tools and frameworks are powerful – for their amazingly straightforward concepts and their accessibility. In 3 pages you could pick up a tool or an idea that could change the whole way you approach a challenge that your organization has struggled with for years. Being able to have our team truly focus on clarity of purpose, roles and process changed how we approach leading the organization. Committing to destination verbs in agendas and our lexicon has opened up hours that would have been wasted in unproductive meetings. Ann has written a true gem!
Let’s be clear here. Ann Latham’s, The Clarity Papers, is crisp and to the point. What’s so great about this book is that in a time starved world, you can read a few of the papers, incorporate the ideas into your work (and personal) life, and then pick up the book again for the next round of great ideas. I can think of at least a dozen executives who would benefit greatly from reading this book!
Admittedly, Latham’s To Do List quiz hit a bit too close to home. The quiz alone is well worth the price of the book!
Ann’s book not only points out why you need more clarity, but also helps you understand why things aren’t nearly as clear as you might think. Besides getting our team thinking more clearly, Ann also made our discussions more open and productive by understanding what Ann calls “Treadmill Verbs” and avoiding them in our meeting agendas. After reading her book, we brought Ann in to do some executive coaching and found, she’s the real deal.
Great book! Clarity is the most powerful force that fuels human endeavors and this book convincingly demonstrates the value of strategic clarity and its deep power to boost productivity, profit, and employee engagement. Ann’s principles and techniques counter the automatic-conditioning and the decision-making habits of the organizational machinery that produce dis-clarity. This book is filled with unconventional and practical wisdom to transform leadership, productivity and collaboration, and to architect a management system that unlocks your team’s full potential.
There is no advice in this book that isn’t good, there’s just so many “how-tos” and acronyms that it becomes just a bit tedious to follow. It’s like a collection of short stories of management and leadership thoughts that can be easily referred to when the situation arises. I thought the meeting section was helpful.
With care, clarity and focus, Ann moved a diverse group of people, ideas and objectives into a consolidated warm team. Her ability to listen and engage helped us and motivated us. Ann’s direct approach to problem solving added the leadership we needed and a method to allow us to feel heard and respected. One of the most important parts of her job was to be able to make everyone see the role they played and how important it was to the overall mission. Ann, in a beautiful and natural way, was able to do that. I came into the meeting unsure if we would find a solution and way forward that would get buy-in from all. I left with a smile on my face. Each member of the team had new confidence, understanding of a way ahead and respect for the project (in a way I have not seen in years). Ann’s organization of the meeting and skill set made all the difference and I recommend her as strongly as I can. She is a superb professional who understands the value of time, people and mission.
Ann Latham’s Uncommon Meetings is a quick read, packed with substantive ideas on how to get more out of meetings in less time. Everyone who runs meetings should read it!
Sound and deceptively simple concepts here to address many universal (often maddening) issues that drain organizational focus, divert and devour important resources, and otherwise undermine business process and success. Many of these can be applied quickly to make small but significant adjustments to improve practices and outcomes. Latham also provides common language to help work teams articulate the problems at hand and collaborate together toward shared objectives and solutions. Last month our company President (my boss) made this book mandatory reading for his Management Team. It’s a relatively quick read and after everyone finished, we had round table discussion today to share the top 3 ideas that popped for each of us, and how we can apply these. Next, we’re cascading the reading assignment to our direct reports to spread the knowledge and build broader organizational commitment to fully leverage these principles. Hoping an audio book version is in the works to help embed the learnings.
Uncommon Meetings is a quick read with simple, easy to implement, ways to improve your effectiveness and everyone you work with. Following the steps Ann lays out will not only make you more effective, you will get thanks from your co-workers as well for all the time they save and how much more productive they get to be.
Ann hit another home run. We wanted to close gaps in roles and responsibilities, reduce confusion, and improve efficiencies and alignment. When my manager’s wanted a shift in emphasis, Ann was able to seamlessly adapt her approach as if part of the original plan. We tackled more thorny issues and created more clarity than I ever thought possible. We learned by doing. In some cases, we were able to implement new processes same day. In fact, some supervisors absolutely couldn’t wait to get started. I’ve worked with Ann before. When I need pragmatic changes that will stick, I call Ann. I know I’m going to get what we need. Whatever she would say about herself, I would say she is too modest. She’s the best.
I’ve worked with Ann on three projects at this point, varying from several months to half a day. I’m happy to recommend her because I think so highly of her. I’ve done a lot of strategic planning, board retreats, and other facilitated activities, and I’ve never worked with anyone else who comes close to bringing the same value to the table.
By working with Ann Latham, Zoo New England developed a strong and focused strategy. Its strength has been confirmed by everyone we have talked with – the entire board, the staff, donors, and people in the community. It enables us to tell a compelling and convincing story instead of reciting a litany of disparate and competing values directed in too many directions and at too many constituencies.
Almost as important, is our new level of consensus and confidence as a board. Ann has given us the ability to make decisions and not wring our hands over too many choices. We have clarity – one plan, cohesiveness, and can use a shared vocabulary to forecast the future and communicate consistently with donors, members, partners, and the public. We are delighted to have achieved such strong alignment as well as an ambitious, credible strategy. In addition, we now have a more complete understanding of the organization’s strengths and weaknesses and how they relate to our vision and focus.
All the consultants we considered had good references and good experience, but we chose Ann because we believed she would hold us accountable for what we wanted, and needed, to achieve, even if it made us uncomfortable. We were right. She forced us to have honest conversations, make tough choices, and reach agreement about what is most important.
I think what makes Ann most unusual is her level of commitment to us. She was in it with us, willing to take fire. She was completely dedicated to getting results, not just to following her process. Someone less committed to clear outcomes probably would have let us off the hook when we most needed to be pushed.
Ann is not just a facilitator. We got advice, ideas, recommendations, and food for thought. She was a resource for us in thinking through how we could maximize our value and potential as an organization. Ann never told us what we had to do. She never said “here is the answer,” but she gave everyone a voice and challenged our thinking. Her process unpacks the multitude of ideas and distills the headlines. She probes for the real value and the real issues. This freed us from the constraints of our various assumptions and preconceptions. She freed us to make smart, concrete choices.
Oh, and she is nice too!
I recommend Ann with great enthusiasm. If you are committed to honest self-assessment and eager to improve, and not just going through the motions, I believe you will get tremendous results from working with her.
Ann’s style is empathetic, open, and non-judgmental. She somehow seemed to know the room right from the start. She was able to engage everyone, elicit honest feedback, and stimulate creative thinking. This was especially impressive since our group differs significantly in terms of professional expertise and history with the organization. We all felt that our ideas were honored and appreciated. Ann is especially adept at making good choices about further discourse and exposition, pursuing the most fruitful issues and avoiding time wasted on others. She created a productive environment with a level, inviting, and open playing field. I was very pleased with the results.
On a collaborative project with Boeing Phantom Works, Ann did a tremendous job in identifying the cost drivers, producibility issues, and productivity barriers of a supplier organization, all of which were impeding the success of our project. With Ann helping to provide the focus and oversight, the supplier was able to meet their commitments for quality, cost, and schedule.
Ann Latham was hired by the Board of Zoo New England to facilitate strategic planning. What she actually did was so much more.
Ann made it OK to discuss hard subjects. She transformed conversations that the Board had been struggling with for years into cohesive and thoughtful decisions. We emerged with a powerful and strongly supported strategy that has created tremendous new excitement about the organization’s future. In addition, Ann’s persistence and open style provided a forum that allowed new leaders to emerge, energized and enthusiastic about the tasks ahead. Furthermore, Board performance in the aftermath of Ann is greatly improved. We are more focused, more decision oriented, and more prepared to face a newly defined future.
I had the pleasure of working closely with Ann in my capacity as a volunteer board member of a non-profit organization. We hired Ann to help the entire board and staff look at our vision and strategy writ large, and grapple with all sorts of complex and challenging questions. She was a tremendous resource, helping to crystallize and focus this extremely broad process, fostering more dialogue and communication between and among all of the participants, and empowering us to consider decisions and the concrete actions needed to move forward. She is sharp, efficient, candid, and has a very effective style and approach that facilitates action and empowers an organization’s leaders.
I hired Ann to guide us through an accelerated strategic planning process. We covered a lot of ground in two days, converged on a new direction quickly, and still had time to address important implementation issues. We now have a clear, compelling strategy that is easily understood. Everyone is on board and understands their part. Several managers have come to me independently to report excitement among their teams over our plans and the level of focus and determination. Our progress just a month later is impressive.
Ann’s guidance and process created strong buy-in and I think that is key. To some extent, we agreed to stop and do things we knew we needed to do, but didn’t have the courage to do. The strength of our collective conclusions also gave us the confidence to move some people around and create a more effective organization that is already having a significant impact. Our Managing Director participated in the process as well and this was a big plus. We have his buy-in for our plans and decisions and he is in a better position to judge our performance and support our efforts.
With our focus, we are making better decisions and have a greater ability to say ‘no.’ Our longer term plans and ambitions are on hold until we complete this first phase, which we all know will provide a better foundation for new products and greater production efficiencies.
It is obvious that Ann has a lot of experience in strategic planning and leading meetings like these. She prepared herself, and us, by talking with us and soliciting ideas via surveys. She interviewed customers and captured their perceptions, which added a level of credibility to our impressions and decisions. She came with her own ideas, tools, and plans.
I would readily recommend Ann. She is extremely effective in leading a group in strategy and problem solving. She is also flexible and easy to work with. I found this to be true during our planning as well as the two days we worked together as a group.
Ann is clear, focused, and speaks with tons of authority, but also with openness. She zooms in on important issues and steers the conversation to the essence without making people feel cut off. As a result, we tackled thorny issues, made important decisions, and developed an excellent strategic plan. I can definitely recommend Ann. I just wish I had access to her insights all of the time!
Ann is an invaluable executive coach. She is a quick, honest, and insightful partner. I have learned as much from her about focused, action-oriented leadership in two months as in a decade of first-hand experience. Ann elevated my awareness of strategy, planning, and execution in ways that immediately impacted my work. I can’t recommend Ann more highly.
The process that our committee engaged in was outstanding. First, the outcome of our work is truly exceptional. Second, the process itself built amazingly strong relationships and it was remarkable that these relationships evolved DURING the process, not as an adjunct to it. That is, we didn’t do team-building first and then address the challenge. We built the team as we worked on the problem (without a ropes course!). And given the many different perspectives, that took real guidance from Ann, although I’ll confess that it seemed largely invisible. Also, the process was not tedious. There was no arduous research or endless brainstorming with subsequent consolidation. We moved forward with each meeting. Third, I learned a lot personally.
One thing that really stood out, particularly in contrast to other committee projects in which I have been involved, was this sense of progress. Yes, we had a lot of meetings, but the schedule was regular, they were conducted according to that schedule, and we knew what we did and what we would do next time. My participation in this project has set a new standard for my expectations of groups like this. And, unfortunately, few others measure up.
I have already recommended Ann to others. I think Ann takes a deep interest in the work she takes on. I have seen other consultants apply one formula to different problems and issues. And while that usually works better than no facilitation, I believe that Ann really thinks about the outcome, how it will be used or implemented, and then adapts her process to fit both the need and the time allotted to solving the problem. Too often, I’ve seen formula-driven processes end up having to rush to conclusion, just when the brainstorming and the mind-maps ought to be thoroughly tested.
Ann is also a strong group leader. She has a physical presence coupled with a calm demeanor that seems to keep even a diverse and sometimes rowdy group on track.
Ann Latham is one of the best business speakers I have heard. She is very experienced, the quality of her thinking is extremely high, and she knows how to deliver her message in an entertaining, concise, and convincing way.
Since working with Ann, the quality and effectiveness of my group meetings have increased significantly. Not only do we have more meaningful discussions on the most relevant topics, but we are able to consistently adhere to the allotted time. Because the entire group participated, we are all aligned on expectations. This makes for more effective meetings and a high functioning team.
The benefits go far beyond meeting effectiveness. For example, we also gained a framework for managers and leaders to deliver specific, constructive feedback, coaching, and mentoring of employees. After attending a few meetings with my group I noticed that one of my technical leads was reluctant to make decisions based on her experience and expertise. Under normal circumstances, this would have been masked by all the noise. This weakness became evident once expectations, roles, and responsibilities were clarified. With this revelation, I was able to provide the proper coaching and career development training that my employee needed to build confidence in this area. I’ve seen significant improvements in her decision quality over the past several months as a result.
Ann’s approach is different because it focuses on creating specificity and clarity; clarity in expectations, roles, responsibilities, and communication. This level of clarity is critical to forming a high functioning team.
The California State University system is very lean in comparison to other university systems. Our staff is tasked with multiple responsibilities and cannot waste a second in order to deliver our mission to our 500,000 students. Ann Latham provides an opportunity to our employees through her three breakthrough dimensions of productivity and met our needs to help reduce wasted time. Ann is a fantastic presenter and ‘walks the walk” by facilitating her content to our audience in the one hour restriction we had available for our broadcast. We received great feedback after her presentation and many request to view the recording which proved her value. Thank you, Ann, for your succinct collaboration.
I’ve worked with Ann on two different strategic planning processes, for two different organizations, and I really like her ability to listen intently and sort through layers of information from a variety of perspectives. Ann cuts to the chase and distills what is important while still honoring the intentions of each individual. She also keeps things light, on task, and moving along quickly so we finish on time. Ann has a great ability to strategically outline the work that needs to get done and frame it so that it is doable and not just a plan that sits on the shelf. We definitely accomplished all of our objectives and have an excellent platform for continued progress on our own. I would certainly welcome Ann’s ‘uncommon clarity’ on future projects! I recommend her highly to any group doing thoughtful strategic thinking and planning.
Ann Latham is just a terrific speaker. I was hoping for a single gem of wisdom. What I got instead was a solid hour packed with gems. I learned at least six techniques that are immediately applicable to my work and which I was able to apply starting at 8:00 AM the very next day. I learned that clarity of purpose isn’t a high level concept, but a tool to get me through each day. I learned how to SOAR through decisions, the six outcomes for meetings, how to reduce email, and the only three reasons to include others in decisions and plans. I could go on. And that’s all in one hour! Ann is concise, to the point, and exceedingly clear. She uses great examples that make her points incredibly memorable.
On top of that, Ann connected with the room and engaged us. She is energetic and passionate – totally committed to helping us improve our situations with clarity.
I believe Ann’s work and the way she creates clarity are especially valuable for knowledge workers where cognitive processes are more important than physical processes. If you are looking for an excellent speaker who will have an immediate impact, I recommend you call Ann.
Through our live webcast training series, Ann over-delivered to our systemwide audience with her impactful presentation full of real-life scenarios and specific ways we can transform our less-effective patterns — the way we think, plan, work, and interact — to become “Ultra Productive.” Her unique and skillful way of breaking through ambiguity and confusion to create Radical Clarity was one of the big highlights of our training program this year. She has a special ability to craft and deliver presentations that facilitate awareness within each attendee about where they may have a gap in clarity, and then follows through with specific, easy to understand ways to bridge that gap, giving them tools and confidence to shine.
The outstanding feedback we received from our participants has us asking Ann to come back again to deliver more of her powerful ideas! I would recommend Ann wholeheartedly for presentations and to work closely with teams to help them be more effective.
Thank you, Ann, we look forward to working with you again soon. The surprising simplicity of Radical Clarity is of the utmost importance for empowering us to excel in our professional, and personal, lives.
Ann showed me a different way to optimize our precious time by focusing on clarity of what is required. She nailed it down to very simple and efficient processes, using clarity, to get things done. A big thumbs up to her way of explaining the only 6 outcomes for a meeting. Thanks for the eye opening session.
Ann, I love your Clear Thoughts newsletter. I read every edition. They’re all fantastic, and highly relevant to Medtronic.
Clear Thoughts is the fresh, grounding breath of perspective that every executive needs in order to see clearly despite the daily chaos.
‘Wow’ sums it up nicely. Ann stepped into a delicate, sensitive situation involving a diverse, disjointed group of people with a challenging objective and, in remarkably little time, moved us to a solid, shared conclusion. The way she works is impressive: she has a great handle on people, makes everyone want to work together, ensures every meeting is focused and valuable, and simplifies issues so all understand the challenges and options and can reach shared conclusions. On top of that, I really enjoy working with her.
Ann’s ability to simplify complex issues such that everyone understood their respective roles was a key part of her success. She truly helped us achieve profitable and predictable growth while improving the quality of our methods and processes.
Ann knows productivity! She taught me several things I did not know about executive time management that I was compelled to share immediately with my 10,000+ subscribers. It was a great presentation. I understand why people say she has Uncommon Clarity and why that is the name of her business. If you haven’t worked with Ann, heard her speak, or subscribed to her newsletter, you are missing a great opportunity!
What I like about working with Ann is how she keeps a group strategically focused while making the process engaging, easy, and humorous. She uncovers common ground, creates opportunity, and guides the group to new shared conclusions in remarkably little time.
Ann, our day with you was a positive and transformative experience for the whole management team. It was highly focused, intense in the best possible way, and it felt great to be pushed as a team. I am completely happy with everything – from your style, to your process, to the pace of the meeting, to the outcomes.
When budgets are tight, Executive Directors might say “we can’t afford a consultant”. I’m glad I said “we can’t afford not to have one.” Your assistance was not a luxury, it was a necessity. The day was worth every penny of your fee and then some. I am not exaggerating when I say “we couldn’t have done it without you.” We look forward to another opportunity to work with you.
I wanted to follow up with you regarding the meeting I facilitated this week. I was very inspired by your audio We Have Got to Stop Meeting Like This! and decided to follow your suggestions and turn topics into objectives as I planned my agenda. This is a new team and we are still in the forming stage with lots to do. For this meeting I set clear expectations for what the participants should come prepared to do. I explained to the group that at the end of our meeting “something would be different”. It worked! They were all prepared and engaged and we accomplished our goals. I found it so much easier to facilitate and get back on track when necessary because these objectives were so clear. The best part was after the meeting several people asked if we could extend the next one to 90 minutes so we can accomplish even more! I have never had anyone ask me for a longer meeting!
Thank you for a great two days. You are clearly a gifted facilitator and helped us achieve some important outcomes, both in terms of a strategy for the future and our ability to work more collaboratively together. The ROI was there.
This project was successful because we achieved very tangible results. What worked really well was the fact that everyone on staff who was participating in the process felt they owned it, and therefore they owned the outcomes. And that is what I think makes change stick.
“I’ve dealt with a lot of consultants in my career over the last 25 years, I have chaired three boards and been on many others, and Ann is the best at what she does. She almost always appears to be as committed to our success as we are. She is not afraid to challenge conventional behaviors or conventional processes already in place. She is able early on to pick up on the culture of the organization and know how to respond to it, able to look at its strengths and play into them.
“The first thing I would say to someone else about working with Ann is, “You are going to get more than your money’s worth, because Ann is committed to your success.” Her own approach is very much outcome driven so there is a good correlation between how she works as an individual and how she wants the organization to work.
This is a great return on investment.
I hadn’t realized how entrenched I was in so many time-wasting habits until Ann Latham made them transparent. It’s almost embarrassing.
She observed a few meetings and then provided me with feedback and very specific, practical techniques, not generalizations or theory, that have changed the way I think, conduct meetings, and work with my staff and Board. Each meeting and phone call with Ann left me very aware and armed with techniques that are so applicable, so practical, and just hit home so hard.
One thing I really appreciate is that she sugar-coats nothing, provides critical feedback, and demands critical thinking. And yet, she redirected me with great patience. The results have definitely exceeded my expectations, and what I’ve learned will have broad and long term impact.
Our meetings are dramatically shorter and more powerful, but it goes beyond that. Our clarity of purpose, decision-making, problem solving, and communication are also improved.
Ann has certainly made me a stronger, more effective leader and manager. I would recommend Ann to others and intend to hire her again myself.
Ann Latham transformed our thinking about how our organization works. This discovery led us to a strategic model that solves our pain and opens new opportunities. She truly lives up to her brand of ‘uncommon clarity.’
My engineering students requested more guidance on running effective meetings, especially with the liaisons for their corporate-sponsored design projects. Having read Ann’s blog and her books about meetings, I knew immediately she was the person to call. I had hoped she could give a guest lecture with some advice and strategies about meetings, but what I received was far more than that. As a first step, Ann sat in on student/liaison meetings with several of the teams to observe their current practices. She then crafted an interactive session for the class that specifically addressed behaviors she had observed in the meetings. She offered concrete suggestions and provided hands-on opportunities for the students to try out these ideas.
The class was a great success in itself, but the results thereafter were a home run – and extended far beyond meetings! My students improved their organization and focus, communicated more clearly, and managed their project workload and task delegation more effectively. In turn, I learned ideas and approaches I can continue to use in the classroom and with future students. And the external sponsors gained more productive student teams and better final products. Ann is a skilled listener, an agile synthesizer, and a natural educator – she has my highest endorsement.
Ann is simply outstanding at moving a group to a strong conclusion. In our case, I couldn’t have imagined a better outcome. What makes her particularly unusual is that there isn’t a lot of noise, she doesn’t distract, and no one wastes time. She lets discussions run but doesn’t let them run amok. She is deliberate and straight forward with a soft touch that keeps people on task, the process moving forward, and ideas flowing. By always maintaining a clear purpose, next steps, and expectations, she made me a better contributor and able to get on task quickly despite the limited time I had for the project. After working with Ann, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone in need of a strategy, plan, arbitration, facilitation, etc.
I hired Ann because I’d heard she was results-oriented, and I would hire her again because she definitely is! We got terrific outcomes, wasted no time (finished in 2/3 the expected time), and everyone walked away feeling good about both the process and the results. I was especially delighted to watch Board participation and interest increase along the way, which is not what usually happens. They were really engaged and are now totally committed to our direction and the reasons for our decisions. I just gave a glowing recommendation of Ann to another agency and won’t hesitate to do so again. Ann is really different from the typical consultant.
I’ve never been to a retreat that was so focused, so fast paced, and with such clear progress throughout.
To achieve your desired outcomes in less time and with fewer people, read this book! It has great tips and memorable examples for improving meetings and is concise and clear as well. All and all, a huge value for anyone who spends a lot of time in meetings as I do.
Ann raised the bar, broke down old patterns, and shifted our culture. We have new tools, new shared language, and new non-threatening processes coupled with new group norms of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. We are solving problems more easily and more collaboratively, utilizing our time more efficiently, communicating more clearly, and interacting in healthier, more productive ways. In addition, the silent minority have found a voice and a greater willingness to step up. Early in the process, Ann looked at our whole structure and quickly identified blockages and ways to free up our potential and energy, while also increasing our efficiency and accountability. I could go on; she has helped us in so many substantive ways.
Several things set Ann apart from other consultants. One is her keen intellect, her ability to assess complex situations with many different dimensions and inputs and synthesize them into a cohesive and simple whole.
Another is that she does not use a preconceived approach. She looks objectively, asks lots of questions, makes adjustments along the way, and is open to ideas and feedback so that she not only utilizes her own talent and insights, but also those of the people around her.
Another unusual characteristic is that she is empathetic and caring but doesn’t let that cloud or prevent deep examination and difficult conversations. Furthermore, she has shown me that empathy and caring without clarity can be extremely detrimental to the organization.
Personally, I really enjoyed Ann’s direct and honest feedback. Her no-holds-barred mirror and the tenacity to be heard led her to rephrase and explain until I got it, whatever it was. And while direct, clear, and persistent, she is also a pleasure to work with because of her humor and humanity.
Ann is a true partner and really takes ownership of achieving both immediate and long term results. Initially, I thought she was expensive, but now I feel completely the opposite; we got far more value than we paid for.
Ann understood our situation and challenges very quickly. We had five critical issues and she helped us address all five in less time than we thought would be needed for one. She cut to the core, leading us to several important decisions and new ways of working together to be more effective and more strategic. She is fast, refreshingly different, and someone I can recommend highly.
Ann is an outstanding team player. Working with a diverse group of manufacturing and design team members, Ann was able to gain consensus for improvement initiatives, win over even the skeptical, and move the team forward toward production-readiness. Every team member has the highest regard for Ann, her professionalism, dedication and energy, and outstanding change management skills.
Ann, thank you for this session. It was the most amazing and provocative session I have ever had at the ASTD International Conference. Thank you very much!
I called Ann to invite her to meet with our senior team to discuss strategic planning. She asked a few incredibly perceptive questions, declined my invitation, and then gave me free advice over the phone. Her insights and advice were both dead on. She saved us from a costly engagement that would have missed the mark and wasted a lot of time for all of us. If I need her help again, I won’t hesitate to call. She proved that she really does practice what she preaches. It is refreshing to find a consultant so clearly looking out for the best interests of her clients.
I brought Ann in as a speaker for the Women Business Owner’s Alliance, knowing that she would give a strong presentation, but her talk exceeded my expectations. I have heard some of her material on her videos and in her newsletters, but she was really energizing in person and just what I needed in my “state of victimhood” around having an incredibly heavy workload right now. I changed my conversation about having too much to do, and started feeling better right away.
The WBOA is an organization that supports women entrepreneurs at all stages of business, from people just considering starting a business, to people like me who have been self-employed for ten years or more. What I so appreciated about Ann’s presentation is that it was relevant to all of us, no matter where we are in our business trajectory. Ann’s advice is relevant to more than just business people — getting clarity truly applies to all aspects of life. As such, I think Ann would make a great speaker for a wide range of audiences and organizations.
Your Clear Thoughts is a breath of fresh air for me. When I read your articles I feel joy! Because you make sense without making things complicated.
You dig to the root of the problem, and I find this to be the only effective way of dealing with ambiguous blobs of reality.
Perhaps the attached picture will speak
for itself. Yep, I have your quote stuck on my desk. This is what makes a difference for me every day. I now approach every new project with this question, and I see my colleagues picking it up too.
It’s the first time I’m writing a feedback email to an author. But this time I can’t resist the temptation to say that I love your work!
‘Uncommon Meetings’ is a quick read with simple, easy to implement, ways to make meetings shorter and more effective. You will get more time back and you and your co-workers will be more productive.
Uncommon Meetings is a must read for everyone in any organization, not just top management.
Ann helps her audiences in a very brief time master such vital skills as improving and speeding decision making in turbulent times, and she does so with wit, energy, and great examples to use as guides.
In her audio seminar, “Meeting Mastery,” Ann Latham effectively identifies the building blocks of meeting leadership. In my competitive business segment of service-based manufacturing, time- driven, results-oriented action can only occur when people communicate with a purpose. “Meeting Mastery” is a great tool to help the student and listener improve one form of team communication – the meeting. Every organization would benefit from the material found in Ann’s training material.
Ann is a captivating speaker, providing important principles about small business progress in an approachable, common-sense way. The stories she shares to illustrate points are personal and interesting, allowing her audience to consume important information about the steps they need to take in advancing their business in a way that is easy to absorb. Our audience of entrepreneurs enjoyed Ann’s depth and breadth of knowledge due to her many years of experience advising companies throughout the world.
We’ve never met in person but I just wanted to shoot you an email to let you know that I’m a fan of your work. While we both tick the “Management Consultant” and “Strategy” boxes, I appreciate how unique and focused your perspective is. I’m a big fan of the content you publish in your social channels and on your blog. Really liked this one: 4 Skills That Separate The Super Productive From Everyone Else
That’s it! Not that you needed validation from someone you don’t know, but I wanted to let you know that I think what you do is great. It’s refreshing to see a professional who cares so deeply about the people she serves.
A book with a title like this one – “Clear Thoughts” – had better be short, and this one is. Refreshingly so. It checks in at 79 pages and is easily read at one sitting.
Fresh, organized and concise insights that make it easy to step back and get the clearest view of a situation
Ann is teaching us to get to the point, say what we mean and get the best possible results for your business outcomes. Clear Thoughts is a valuable read for all who want to increase efficiency and be more effective.
What I liked best about your Uncommon Meetings workshop is that it was concise, to the point, and substantive. I liked the whole program. It will help me significantly in slashing meeting times and getting better results.
I would highly recommend Ann. She quickly understands the issues, gets down to business, keeps a group on task. She was very effective in leading our group to consensus on many important decisions. We got just what we needed.
To achieve your desired outcomes in less time and with fewer people, read this book! It has great tips and memorable examples for improving meetings and is concise and clear as well. All and all, a huge value for anyone who spends a lot of time in meetings as I do.
Yes, this workshop will definitely help me slash meeting times and get better results! It started and ended on time and provided valuable and clear process tips and helpful exercises. I found it all helpful.
Ann Latham’s ‘Uncommon Meetings’ is a road map to well run meetings. It is a good read for busy people. While serving as a refresher for all of us who labor through less effective meetings, the highlights in boxes and bullet points emphasize insightful aids to more meaningful meetings and desired outcomes.
I wish everyone read this book. Ann Latham’s “Uncommon Meetings” is a quick read, packed with substantive ideas on how to get more out of meetings in less time. Everyone who runs meetings should read it!
For me, Ann’s key insight in her “Meeting Mastery” audio seminar is that we do not have to be captive to the same meeting regimen – there is a better way! She shows the way to take charge of meetings and ensure more productive results.
Ann has a talent for distilling a complex situation down to clear and concise questions that, when answered by our group of attendees with disparate perspectives and experiences, brought us all together. We left the room with just what we had hoped – a consensus around the right path forward.
Ann has worked with the Y in a number of capacities over the last couple years. Most recently she led a half-day retreat for the Board. This event was very successful, helping the Board to think through how it should evaluate different growth alternatives and trajectories. Ann’s ability to help the Board distill a host of competing goals, aspirations and concerns down to a small number of key issues was very valuable, and it helped to leave at least this Board member with a sharper understanding of the relevant trade-offs and prioritization that will be necessary for the Y as it plans its future.
I attended a workshop on this topic that Ann presented a while ago, and it is pure Ann Latham! Helpful, to the point, and lots of great tips to keep meetings productive instead of just a waste of time. I’ve found the tips in Uncommon Meetings useful even when I am not the chair of the meeting, including meetings of volunteer boards.
Our session with Ann accomplished a great deal. We made many important decisions, the most important of which had been tabled for far too long and had become pretty divisive. Ann kept our noses to the grindstone, but in a nice way, and we never got bogged down. The entire day was extremely well crafted. It was very impressive. In the end, the Board felt renewed, energetic, and more committed than ever. Ann’s relentless focus on outcomes leads to getting far more done than I’ve ever seen with other consultants.
The content and tools learned from you Uncommon Meetings workshop will be helpful in running future meetings.
I have just finished your book, Clear Thoughts – Pragmatic Gems of Better BusinessThinking, (I was relishing the bits so much I was reading only a few at a time), and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it and how valuable I found it. I had started putting the little sticky page markers to mark the pages that really spoke to me, and realized that I have probably bookmarked almost half of it.
I attended a work shop entitled ‘Uncommon Meetings – Better Results in Half the Time’ conducted by Ann Latham, president of Uncommon Clarity. I was completely impressed! I thought myself a pretty proficient facilitator of meetings…after all I’ve been an Organizational Effectiveness Consultant for nonprofits for quite a few years. Just goes to show you to keep an open mind because I learned! Ann has meetings down to a science. Her method walks you through the necessary steps to achieve exactly what you want without wasting precious time. Best of all, Ann’s methodology is straightforward, not complicated, and…it works!
I appreciated the clarity and excellent use of time. What I learned during your Uncommon Meetings workshop will help me dramatically slash meeting times and get better results.
Ann spoke to our women’s business owners group and focused on decision making. She has an incredible way of clearing away the extraneous and assisting others in getting to the heart of the matter with such ease. Ann is a great speaker and an excellent trainer. She possesses an unusual skill – just what her business name implies – uncommon clarity.
Your Uncommon Meetings workshop was fabulous! You are informative, engaging, and wise. I’ve only heard you speak twice but both times I got a month’s worth of value.Thank you!
Ann does a great job of keeping people focused, cutting to the critical issues, and avoiding ‘rabbit holes.’ I would recommend her to anyone who wants to make better plans and decisions with greater speed and confidence in the outcomes.