All organizations do change when put under sufficient pressure. This pressure must be either external to the organization or the result of very strong leadership. Bruce Henderson, CEO Boston Consulting Group People being a company’s most important asset sometimes seems to be forgotten by companies in the drive for bottom-line efficiency and effectiveness. Some say …
People are our greatest asset! How many times have we heard this from a company’s management and said ‘yeah sure they are!’ We’ve become cynical and dismissive as some companies treat us like LIFO inventory – last in, first out. Do happy people really matter in business? You bet. And that’s another reason why we …
Basically, the Web and the Internet are Brand U paradigm busters. For example, they’ve changed the balance of power between buyer and seller. The buyer is much more powerful. Think of supply and demand. Where’s the supply and where’s the demand? Think of the employee as the Brand U buyer and the employer as the …
William Bridges, a profound thinker of work, said, “when you look for a job, you are looking for something that is fading from the socioeconomic picture because it is past its evolutionary prime.”[i] In Job Shift and other books, he calls this ‘de-jobbing.’ He makes the critical distinction between a job and work. A job …
Much of the rapid organizational transformations including indiscriminate downsizing over the last several years have been senseless. Approximately 62% of companies in one survey didn’t even look at other methods for reducing costs before getting rid of people. Many followed the reengineering herd to downsize people instead of changing fundamental processes or growing the business. …
With more people having access to business information, markets are becoming more efficient and effective. To remain competitive, companies are forced to rethink every aspect of their business and their basic assumptions – their business models of pricing, demand, delivery, inventory management, marketing strategies, and branding. The competitiveness paradigm discussed in the last chapter infects …
Over the last several years, your employer may have downsized, restructured, rightsized, transformed, teamed, and refocused itself. This may mean different things to you. You’ve been asked to do more with less. Your friends have been fired. You’re working longer hours. Your bosses are making stupid decisions. You’re getting paid less per hour than last …
Make sure the job fits Behave like an entrepreneur Seek feedback Move beyond mentors Think teams Take risks Be a problem solver Balance your life[i] [i] Covey, Stephen, “How to Succeed in Today’s Workplace,” Parade, September 2, 1997.
Professionals used to speak about the forty-hour week. Now, the norm is 50 hours or more a week just to get stuff off our desks. We’re seeing career upshifters and downshifters. Brand U upshifters strive for the golden ring while Brand U downshifters want to decrease life’s volatility, stress, and speed. More of us are …
Code warrior Bitsifter Leadership engineer Content person Brand manager Creativity czar Charismatic leader Organizational architect Notes god Net anything Imagineer Creatologist Change leader Director of reinventing Futurist Organizational skeptic Go-to person Resultant Head geek Global anything Code juggler Competitor analyst Transition manager Empiricist