In his book, “What Were They Thinking? Unconventional Wisdom About Management,” author Jeffrey Pfeffer devotes a chapter to “making companies more like communities.” His premise is that a company’s human capital is the key to its success, and the key to attracting and retaining the best people is to develop a caring, community-like culture. In
Let’s get confrontational!
To many of us, confrontation is something to be avoided. The word conjures up something unpleasant or uncomfortable. We imagine two people standing toe-to-toe, their faces red, the veins in their necks bulging, and screaming at one another at the tops of their lungs. Well, if that’s the way you think of confrontation, it’s easy
“Extraordinary companies and teams . . . “
In his book, “True Alignment,” author Edgar Papke makes the point that in genuinely great organizations, everyone . . . every executive, every manager, every employee . . . pulls together toward the same goal, the same outcome. Makes sense, doesn’t it? After all, without this sort of “alignment,” members of an organization can work
What’s the difference between a leader and a boss?
Leadership is an endlessly fascinating topic because it’s one of those things that we recognize when we see it in action, but it’s frustratingly difficult to define or quantify in terms we can all agree upon. What does a great leader do that a not-so-great leader doesn’t do? What does a not-so-great leader do that
Why can’t we ever get anything done around here?
Our last posting talked about BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) and we asked, “What’s Your New Year’s BHAG?” But achieving a BHAG is just like keeping a New Year’s resolution: it’s all in the execution. It’s all in the doing. It’s one thing to dream up a BHAG, it’s quite another to put the wheels
What’s your New Year’s BHAG?
At the start of the year, everybody ought to have a BHAG. For the uninitiated, that’s a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal or bee-hag. And why does everyone need a BHAG? Well, if you’re one of those rare businesses that blew the doors off last year and all you want to do is let the good
“In your business decisions, risk only money . . . never people or relationships.”
Business is all about relationships, isn’t it? We need strong relationships with: Employees. We set policies and give direction, but it’s our employees who do the work and get stuff done. We will get their best, most energetic, most creative efforts only if we’ve nurtured the right relationships with them. Vendors. If we’ve taken the
How does your leadership style make people feel?
Bruna Martinuzzi is a consultant who specializes in teaching leadership and presentation skills. She is also the author of two books, and while I have not read either book, I have read an article she published recently with the rather long-winded title, “If your leadership aura could use some polishing, try these 7 tips for
What is your employee disaster plan?
As we’ve said here before, there are two keys to developing an outstanding workforce. First, you have to get the right people on the bus. That is, you have to hire people who have the right attitudes, behaviors, and values to fit well within your organization. As the bus driver, you can’t let just anybody
“Profits Aren’t Everything. They’re the Only Thing.”
Legendary coach Vince Lombardi admonishes us, “Winning isn’t the most important thing. It’s the only thing.” Now George Cloutier, CEO of American Management Services, has taken a page from Lombardi’s playbook with his own book titled, “Profits Aren’t Everything, They’re the Only Thing.” As hard-headed business people, it’s pretty difficult for us to argue with
