How am I doing as a leader? When you’re confused about how you’re doing as a leader, find out how the people you lead are doing? You’ll know the answer. – Lawrence Bossidy, CEO Allied Signal Have you ever worked for a woman manager? Most of my female bosses, I’ve found a pleasure to …
We’re finding more business leaders are using the Golden Rule approach in business, ‘treat others as you want to be treated.’ Spiritual values is a powerful idea in a world that many see as Darwinian and ruthless especially those who have been displaced through outsourcing, reengineering, or a terrible economy. Can the source of spiritual …
Here’s a huge irony. Most managers I know think that they are leaders. When we’ve interviewed the direct reports of the ‘leader,’ we found that folks thought their bosses were administrators or information shufflers not leaders or frankly not even good managers. The question: ‘What makes a leader?’ is becoming more critical in this uncertain …
I’ve always had a burning question: “What’s better, being a leader or a manager?” I’ve observed first level supervisors, managers, and executive work their magic. I still don’t know what makes a great leader or a highly effective manager. However, here are some things I’ve observed and learned: Leaders are flexible. They try to find …
The company with the second best organization ends up second place in the market. – D. Wayne Calloway, CEO PepsiCo. Leaders do make a difference according to research based on facts. Leadership often surfaces in a battle or fiscal emergency, where the consequences of poor judgment are fatal. But, can an extraordinary person make …
The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude. – William James, writer So, you’ve spent your valuable time reading Working It. Great! But, what are you going to do about it. What are your next steps? There is no roadmap for what the …
There is one question that all companies that outsource ask? Wonder what question? Read on … The thinking for outsourcing goes something like this. We are in the business of making widgets so why should we spend our time focusing on running our own telephone company, information technology department, or training organization. The company wants …
There are no German or US companies, only successful ones. – The Wall Street Journal The world is flat and spiky. We are a global economy. We are highly interconnected. There are fewer US companies. There are more global companies. This fundamentally changes how global managers perceive the U.S. market. Senior managers in many …
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 To prosper, all companies are searching for the next killer product or idea. There’s simply not enough products in the pipeline to …
There is no finish line. Nike Corporation motto One of the striking consequences of the Wall Street financial debacle is that the companies that we work for as employees or contractors will have to become more competitive. In the last recession, many companies gave this lip service. OK, they said we’re going to be competitive …