Have you ever known an organization which listed “mediocrity” as one of its core values? Probably not. On the other hand, you can easily find hundreds of organizations who include “excellence” in their core values. That being the case, why … Continue reading →
Failure to delegate properly is a fundamental root cause of organizational dysfunction. Most commonly this type of dysfunction rears its ugly head in one of four ways. First is insufficient (or even non-existent) delegation. In this case delegation is so … Continue reading →
I asked an audience recently, "How well do you manage your past?" It’s a strange question on the surface. After all, the past is past. There’s not much we can do to manage it. Viewed from another perspective, however, the … Continue reading →
In the November 2012 issue of Inc Magazine Jeremy Quittner offers an intriguing summary of strategies that companies are using successfully to engage and motivate Millennials. This generation of workers prefers electronic communication — email, instant messaging, and video or … Continue reading →
Leadership has little to do with holding a particular title or position. Leadership is about wielding influence. The function of leadership is to rally people around a common purpose, then motivate them and mobilize them to achieve it. Leaders succeed … Continue reading →
Piloting an aircraft means constant management of its attitude. That’s pilot lingo for whether the nose is pointed upward or downward. Pointing the nose up confers more lift to the wings. Pointing it down diminishes lift. That’s a good metaphor … Continue reading →
Wise leaders practice continuous encouragement. They presume that their people are more discouraged than they appear to be; more uncertain than they profess to be; and more insecure than they seem to be. It’s not our nature to voice our … Continue reading →
Jim Collins’ widely read volume Good to Great underscores the ability of introverts to be great leaders. Of the CEOs whose success he chronicles, the overwhelming majority were introverts. The demands of management and leadership, however, do not always align … Continue reading →
I’ve written in the past about my interaction with 42Projects and Trust 2.0, a pair of closely-related grassroots programs at Microsoft. (See my article on Microsoft’s Trust 2.0 Initiative.) The goal of 42Projects and Trust 2.0 is to promote greater innovation … Continue reading →
On one of my trips to Kenya I was interviewed on the business news program for a major television station in Nairobi. As we were waiting for the floor crew to finalize camera and light angles, the interviewer began joking … Continue reading →