Jeff Vogelsang, Managing Partner of Promontory Point Partners, is a turnaround specialist. We heard him speak to a group of CEOs wherein he described the typical interaction between himself and the CEO of a company that requires his turnaround help. Vogelsang said that the CEO will “whine” (his word, not ours) to him that the
“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
In 1998, Dr. Spencer Johnson published “Who Moved My Cheese,” a business fable that would remain on the New York Times best seller list for almost five years. Its message is as relevant today as it was when it was published over 20 years ago, and it remains a very popular business book having sold
“When was the last time you did something for the first time?”
George Romney once said, “There is nothing more vulnerable than entrenched success.” In other words, we get a little success under our belt and there’s a risk that we become fat, dumb, and happy . . . in short, complacent. Hubris sets in and some rigor leaves. We take our foot off the gas a
“Change is good; you go first.”
Jim Hemerling is an author and a senior partner/managing director at the famed Boston Consulting Group. One of his particular areas of expertise is change management, so he must be a very busy guy these days because there’s a lot of change to manage. Change is coming at us rapidly, and it’s accelerating. He recently
Compensation is an equity issue.
In American business, an individual’s compensation package, particularly among managers and sales people, frequently includes an incentive component. An example might be a manager who is paid a base salary of $75,000, but is able to earn an additional $25,000 if he or she is able to achieve certain goals or outcomes. The proposition is,
“Change with the world – or it will change without you.”
Kristin van Ogtrop is the editor of Real Simple, a monthly lifestyle magazine for women. In a recent edition of Time magazine, she wrote an opinion piece entitled, “There’s a difference between a boss and a friend, and that’s as it should be.” In it, she bemoans a lot of research done by the Gallup
Solve Problems with Ignorance, Not Experience
“When you’re a little bit dumb and naïve, things get done that no one believed could be done.” We don’t know who said that, but it’s true. Consider the new, fresh-faced young salesman who marches into an account we wrote off long ago as a waste of time. We all laugh at his innocence and
“Outstanding performance is inconsistent with fear of failure.”
In today’s business environment, change is inevitable. It’s all around us . . . new government regulations are thrust upon us, new competitors enter our market as old competitors leave, and new technologies make current technologies obsolete. Yet our instincts are to resist change. After all, we perform well doing things the way we do
Are you a bad boss? (Part 2)
My previous posting asked, “Are you a bad boss?” I then offered a number of bad boss behaviors (poor emotional control, indecisiveness, micromanaging, etc.) for your consideration. Well, I apparently missed a few. I have gotten some notes (from people, I assume, who are bad bosses themselves, who are recovering bad bosses, or who at
Are you a bad boss?
An old adage says, “People don’t leave their companies, they leave their managers.” There are lots of reasons an employee may leave a company . . . higher pay, better hours, shorter commute, etc. . . . but in many cases, a bad boss is in there too. Think about your own work experience and
