The September 2015 issue of Inc. magazine is devoted to the “Inc. 500 – the 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America.” Over the next several postings, I’ll try to glean some wisdom from the leaders of the Inc. 500 companies . . . try to discern what they believe made them successful. But first,
“What crucial conversations are you not holding, or not holding well?”
Joseph Grenny is a New York Times best-selling author, a keynote speaker, and a social scientist who is passionate about good communication. More precisely, he is passionate about what he calls “crucial conversations” . . . those conversations that are necessary, but are so fraught with real or imagined danger, or carry so much emotional
“Negotiations are built on agreement, not disagreement.”
We tend to associate “negotiating” with lawyers, politicians, and purchasing agents. But the fact is, we all negotiate. We negotiate compensation packages for new employees, we negotiate price and terms with our customers, we negotiate bedtimes with our kids, and household budgets with our spouses. So we all negotiate all sorts of stuff . .
Be decisive. Get focused. Take a nap.
Successful people have always been, and continue to be, studied, researched, and analyzed endlessly. Why? Because we want to learn what makes them tick. We want to find out what they do (or don’t do) that makes them more successful than the rest of us. I recently read two online articles, each describing a characteristic
“At the end of the day, you bet on people, not strategies.”
The Filene Research Institute is a think tank aimed at helping credit unions find ways to operate smarter, more efficiently, and more effectively. An acquaintance of mine who manages a credit union shared one of Filene’s reports with me. The title of the report is “Attributes and Skills of Highly Effective Credit Union Managers,” but
Don’t manage change. Lead it!
In their book, “Blue Ocean Strategy,” authors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne offer some advice for successfully introducing change. The advice they offer is in the context changing marketing strategy, but their advice is really valid for any significant change within an organization whether you’re making operational changes, organizational changes, policy changes, or other.
There is no talent shortage if you’re a great place to work.”
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
