We live in a VUCA world. VUCA stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Not too sure what this means? Take a look at any news broadcast or front page of any national newspaper. Most of the articles deal with VUCA. Let’s look at each element of VUCA: Volatility: The unexpected or even 100-year events …
Common comments often heard were: ‘Why should we bend over backwards if management is not committed to us,’ and ‘just because I’m single and childless doesn’t mean I have the will or the desire to work a 12-hour day, six days a week.’ There is a hierarchy of work-life needs that if unmet result in …
Companies are simultaneously transforming and want to be ‘family friendly.’ These two trends sometimes seem incompatible. Each year, more companies are competing to be a poster company for Working Mother Magazine’s ‘Best Companies for Working Mothers.’ Brand U’s want more flexibility to balance work and family. However, companies want the banner that lists them in …
Lead the cultural change or transformation Make a case for cultural change Use organizational design as part of the business strategy Ensure the successful change effort is collaboratively, systemically, and competently managed Promote a continuous learning and adaptation environment Are keepers of the organizational vision.[i] [i] Sherwood, John J; Hoylman, Florence M, “The Total …
What does a non-Brand U organization look like? Mort Meyerson, President of Perot Systems recently said, “the emphasis on profit-and-loss to the exclusion of other values was creating a culture of destructive contention. … For example, I listened to some of our senior leaders talk about how they handled people on teams who didn’t perform. …
There’s a misconception the only way to create a virtual organization is to provide workers a laptop, e-mail, and instructions while corporate offices are sublet or disappear. Wrong! Organizations run on a set of rules, principles, and practices. Businesses and organizations are based on a culture, face-to-face contacts, synergies, and shared goals that can’t be …
Teaming can be a religion or a cult. The Wall Street Journal said that one “plant’s emphasis on fitting into a group can seem almost cultist: Worker mishaps that might hamper production or tarnish the plant’s reputation are considered an affront to everyone and can prompt a sort of communal confession.”[i] One group at this …
While the hierarchal business organization still predominates, it’s also changing. Now, the hierarchal model is flatter and amorphous in Brand U organizations. Innovative organizational models are often based on interlocking groups, virtual partnerships, strategic alliances, and matrix organizations.
Many fresh MBAs want to go into management thinking that’s the way to power, perks, and bucks. There are other ways to getting these, including being a highly paid Brand U individual contributor. Two recent articles graced the front page of the Wall Street Journal on the wisdom of becoming a manager. Their challenging titles …
Being CEO or a vice president of a mega corporation once promised to be a secure, high-paid retirement cushion. No more! If CEOs, VPs, business unit managers, plant managers, and even first level sales managers don’t make their numbers, they’re history. And, we all have to make our numbers in a politically and culturally correct …