“It’s an environment the likes of which managers have never seen—a Great Disruption in which the old rules for success become recipes for failure, and ‘doing more with less’ will not be nearly enough to survive.”—Scott D. Anthony, The Silver Lining: An Innovation Playbook for Uncertain Times, … [Read more...] about Tough Times Call for Disruptive Innovation
Search Results for: manager
What’s Needed Next? Transparency & Trust
We need a better way to evaluate our business leaders, assert James O’Toole and Warren Bennis in a recent Harvard Business Review article (“A Culture of Candor,” June 2009). It’s no longer prudent to judge American corporate leaders’ performance solely on the extent to which they create wealth for … [Read more...] about What’s Needed Next? Transparency & Trust
What’s Wrong with Business Books?
Before buying into business books-du-jour that claim the secret formula to 'excellence' and 'great companies', take a hard look at their research methods. Both In Search of Excellence and Good to Great have inspired legions of managers everywhere, but are they based on sound evidence and rigorous … [Read more...] about What’s Wrong with Business Books?
A Checklist for Managing Your Boss
There will always be those who view the concept of managing upward as flattery and manipulation. Others hold the common belief that if bosses are wise, they don’t need to be managed and such efforts will be viewed solely as attempts to play office politics. But managing upward is not about … [Read more...] about A Checklist for Managing Your Boss
The 8 Traps of Decision Making
Before making an important decision, prudent managers evaluate the situations confronting them — and often fall into one of the eight traps of faulty thinking. Some managers are too optimistic and overconfident: They overestimate success and underestimate the range of potential outcomes. On the … [Read more...] about The 8 Traps of Decision Making
Once Again: Just How Do You Motivate People?
You know you have a talented group of people working for you. You may have personally hired some of them or seen their excellent work in other teams. But all of this talent is meaningless if you cannot raise the bar and motivate people to produce their best work ever, for you and your team, right … [Read more...] about Once Again: Just How Do You Motivate People?
Discover Your Strengths: The Road to Self-improvement
"Most Americans do not know what their strengths are. When you ask them, they look at you with a blank stare, or they respond in terms of subject knowledge, which is the wrong answer." —Peter Drucker "To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life." … [Read more...] about Discover Your Strengths: The Road to Self-improvement
Finding Your Next Big Idea
The business enterprise has two, and only two, basic functions: marketing and innovation. It is not necessary for a business to grow bigger; but it is necessary that it constantly grow better. ―Peter F. Drucker The organization that fails to continually innovate new products and services will … [Read more...] about Finding Your Next Big Idea
Employee Engagement: Running on 1/3 People Power
The statistics on workforce engagement are shocking. According to research, only 29 percent of employees are motivated and energized. What, then, is happening to the other two-thirds of people working in organizations? This is an even worse scenario than the old joke in which a manager is asked … [Read more...] about Employee Engagement: Running on 1/3 People Power
Beware of Busyness: Harnessing Willpower for Purposeful Action
“Only a small fraction of managers actually get something done that really matters or moves their organizations forward in a meaningful way.” Heike Bruch & Sumantra Ghoshal, in A Bias for Action – How Effective Managers Harness Their Willpower, Achieve Results, and Stop Wasting Time, Harvard … [Read more...] about Beware of Busyness: Harnessing Willpower for Purposeful Action