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Take this simple test: Which of the following has the greater risk of causing death in North America today? Being eaten by a shark or being killed by falling airplane parts? Being poisoned or having tuberculosis? Having leukemia or having emphysema? From homicide or from suicide? From all accidents combined or from a stroke? While […]
Read More“Resilient” is an appropriate descriptor frequently and perhaps justifiably applied to successful people and organizations. While resilience is obviously learned or acquired from experience, the question arises as to whether it is also a set of skills that can be taught? Resilience is the capacity to “bounce back” after disappointment, setbacks or even disasters. It […]
Read MoreWhat makes even the brightest people sometimes squander their gifts in amazing, breathtaking acts of stupidity? Consider the following rear-view mirror assessments of the 2008 market meltdown: “What the hell were we thinking? These things were way too complicated!” – Jamie Dimon, CEO, J.P. Morgan Chase, October, 2008 “I am in shocked disbelief at our […]
Read MoreIn their ongoing pursuit of leadership excellence, whether updating or upgrading, professionals tend to show a decided preference for training experiences that focus on the technical aspects of their business. This is understandable, especially when the knowledge acquisition involves or requires changes in business processes, technologies, regulations or standards that might materially affect their organization’s […]
Read MoreI am an longtime fan of Howard Gardner’s writing. A Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, Gardner is the author of more than twenty books, including such classics as Changing Minds, Multiple Intelligences, and Five Minds for the Future. But this particular overview highlights some seminal findings from his study of […]
Read MoreMuch is written about authentic leaders – those who “inspire others to act” or who are “capable of building trust” – yet precious little is offered up as instruction in how to become authentic. Clearly, followers hunger for authenticity. It is the quality that drives our productivity and harmony in our relationships, determines whom we […]
Read MoreInnovation is the currency of competitive advantage. A culture that fosters innovation requires an organization-wide commitment to creative thinking and problem solving. Innovation must become routine, not a random or serendipitous accomplishment. It must be central to the way business gets done, not marginal. It must excite and motivate people, not scare them. To build […]
Read MoreI was reading an article in the April, 2008 issue of CA Magazine a few days ago entitled “Managing Change the Right Way” in which the author, Michael Burns, contends that it is a relatively easy thing to accomplish. Mr. Burns’ thesis is as follows “There is a widely held view that employees are inherently resistant to […]
Read MoreFor most people, titles are important. They validate, provide focus and instil pride in one’s chosen role. Indeed, for some workers, a title is a critical ingredient in their organizational commitment and personal empowerment. Increasingly, businesses are reinventing titles as a means of inciting innovative thinking. And I have long supported the notion that a […]
Read MoreLeadership has been studied for over 80 years without unequivocal or definitive conclusions about its essence. Warren Bennis, a prolific writer on the topic, has suggested that there are more than 850 different definitions of what constitutes leadership. His favourite and most often quoted, I think, is the following: “Managers do things right, leaders do […]
Read MoreAs a leader intent on designing a different kind of future for your organization, where do you start? Some answers are obvious, albeit not necessarily easy to implement. Simply put, you have to boldly start doing things differently. Change comes from questioning heretofore unassailable conventions and smashing the paradigms. If that’s the answer, why is […]
Read MoreNo one, not even the most brilliant, can consistently predict the future with accuracy. Despite the claims of many technical analysts, the markets have never been wholly predictable. That’s because we are incapable of analyzing things that have yet to occur. We analyze history; we predict the future. But how can we do this with some […]
Read MoreLeaders who seek to foster, build and sustain a culture of innovation within their teams or organizations could benefit from a set of rules to guide their actions. For those who seek this guidance, I offer up the following seven “rules” for your consideration: Exert direct, assertive leadership in developing and communicating your innovation vision. […]
Read MoreIf I were to suggest ten commandments to guide today’s chief executives in the task of building innovative, resilient, high-performance teams, my initial list would probably look something like this. THOU SHALT: 1. Have a vision for change and “connect” it to your employees’ reality Don’t expect your organization to change if employees do not […]
Read MoreCreating an organizational culture in which innovation and individual accountability can flourish in tandem requires a different set of skills – the ability to recognize, reconcile and manage the paradoxes inherent in change. Leading and implementing major change initiatives while continuing to deliver high performance is a paradoxical process. While organizations must concentrate on the things […]
Read MoreChange will impact our lives in an infinite number of ways. It will present enormous challenges and unprecedented opportunities. But, with it, will come inordinate stress. Medical research tells us that the greatest stressor in our lives is the inability to change. Which may be why ours is an age of unprecedented strain, headaches and […]
Read MoreWe started producing information faster than we could process it back in 1945. A week-day edition of today’s New York Times contains more information than the average person in 18th Century England was likely to come across in an entire lifetime. In 1971, we were told we saw or heard 560 advertising messages daily. Today […]
Read MoreDriven mostly by technological advances, linear change became exponential change in the last decade of the 20th century. Futurist Ray Kurzweil’s Law of Accelerating Returns replaced Moore’s Law as one of the telling benchmarks for illustrating the rapidly increasing speed of change in our lives. Kurzweil, whose predictions in past provide a degree of credibility to […]
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