They say Wayne Gretzky was a step ahead of other players because he skated to where the puck was going to be. Are you developing your up-and-coming leaders for where your markets and your environment are going to be? Will your leaders be prepared for the daunting complexity that’s coming? Or are you preparing them…
DetailsThis is a sign that Jeffrey put up in his cubicle at ADP a few years ago to remind himself what his business goals should be – and what he can accomplish through promoting the growth of others. From sales to leadership to operations, the rock stars of business multiply the value of everyone they…
DetailsResearch by TowersWatson has revealed that to generate a climate where your employees contribute a consistently high percentage of their capacity you need more that just “engagement.” You must add into the mix enablement (a better term for what used to be called empowerment), and employee well-being. Here, very briefly, is what constitutes each element…
DetailsAre you tired of the political discussion? Now that the election is over, there’s nothing left but celebrations and grousing. Most of us had our fill of it a month ago, but it drags on. We react by covering our ears, unfriending people and pushing back. Then we go to work, and a different kind…
DetailsIf you were anywhere near La Pera Circle in the 80’s you would have heard the echoing of a ball bouncing. I played basketball for hours in my early years. I didn’t play pick up games nor did I play organized basketball; I just shot for hours…on my own. I would play out games in…
DetailsLife is a long process of getting used to things you started out to change. – Frank A. Clark As the story goes, it was on June 4, 1783 at the market square of a French village of Annonay, not far from Paris, that a smoky bonfire on a raised platform was fed by wet…
DetailsPeople in the business community love their clichés. “There’s no ‘I’ in team,” “work smarter, not harder,” and my personal favorite, “think outside the box”. Ugh. When it comes to describing a workplace culture, clichés are abundant here as well. With our open-door policies and expectations of giving 150% (how is this even possible?). These general statements…
Details“We’re all in sales” says author Daniel Pink. In fact, in a Gallup study people reported spending 40% of their time working in what Pink calls “non-sales selling,” convincing/influencing/moving people to decide or do that does not involve anyone making a purchase. Dan Pink is always intriguing. Let’s look at a few things his book…
DetailsThis October, I’m reminded of a company effort to battle breast cancer, started by a handful of passionate people in Canada. We focus so much on the power of one person, super-woman, but forget that more often than not it takes a core group to really move the needle. This is why Margaret Mead once…
DetailsI would like to be remembered as a player who was there for others –Mariano Rivera In announcing his forthcoming retirement from Major League Baseball at the conclusion of the 2013 season, Mariano Rivera will certainly be bound for Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame. By the numbers Rivera has no equal. His stats…
DetailsNothing last forever – not even our troubles. – Arnold H. Glasow In Bits & Pieces, a story is shared about Somerset Maugham, the English writer who once wrote a story about a janitor at St. Peter’s Church in London. One day a young vicar discovered that the janitor was illiterate and fired him. Jobless,…
DetailsI’ve been thinking lately about how one really moves up inside an organization. Many might think it’s about performance or schmoozing. The former is hard, because not everyone gets an opportunity to produce measureable results. The latter isn’t really true, except for those rare situations where the leadership cares more about being popular than organizational…
DetailsRespect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners – Laurence Sterne In surveys conducted by Weber Shandwick (http://bit.ly/ieo5oz) in 2011 it revealed what many already know or experience – incivility in the workplace is on the rise and the many place the blame at the feet of workplace leadership. The online…
DetailsBased on the book, “Get Along with Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere” by Arnold Sanow and Sandra Strauss, standing firm on the hallowed grounds of “rightness” is a dead-wrong approach for connecting with others. It smacks of arrogance and alienates. The need to “be right” gets in the way of winning the acceptance, appreciation, and respect of…
DetailsA recent HBR blog podcast interviewed the CEO of Amazon who, in a major study reported in the Harvard Business Review’s Jan/Feb issue, was ranked #2 of global CEO’s. The late Steve Jobs was #1. Jeff Bezos is an intriguing guy. He permits interviews sparingly and is somewhat of a contrarian around some commonly held…
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