Balancing today’s and tomorrow’s business

Scott Anthony had a post on Bloomberg that summarizes what must have been a bang-up discussion on growth and innovation (post here).   He captures the balance we must strike between “winning the game” and “changing the game” well in his opening graf:

Take a deep breath, and repeat after me: “My [business model, product, business unit, brand, offering] has a finite life. I’m going to make that life as happy and productive as possible, but I also have to think about what’s next.” 

Perhaps this mantra can also help shed some light on the “manager vs. leader” question that so many seem interested in (it is my number one post and its here).  The manager is most interest in today’s “life” while the leader is focused on tomorrow’s.