The other day I read an article about a well-known company anticipating a big competitive problem: huge attrition when its first employees are vested for their stock options, four years after their hire date. The CEO expects to hemorrhage talent, many of which he expects to be snapped up by his competitors. His question, asked […] Read more… Read More»
For as long as we have managers, leadership will always be fallible, messy, exciting, rewarding, and conveniently dismissed. This is not to bash management. This is more a statement of being human. A reality glaringly staring us in the face easily overlooked because of its simplicity. And perhaps one we don’t like. Often when a […] Read more… Read More»
Is anyone with me when I suggest that perhaps, just perhaps, we businesspeople can take ourselves a little too seriously sometimes? Here is the disclaimer I posted on an earlier blog, just to poke a little fun at lawyers and the “leaders” who kowtow to them. If you like it, maybe your company can adopt […] Read more… Read More»
Wednesday, I received an unexpected early birthday present in the form of a tweet from my friend Vala Afshar,* congratulating me on hitting #16 on Forbes 50 Top Social Media Power Influencers. There are some amazing leaders on this list, many of whom I’ve befriended over the years, as well as a number I admire from afar. […] Read more… Read More»
There’s an analogy of a frog and water. If you put the frog in cold water and slowly turn-up the heat, the frog won’t notice and slowly cook. However, if you put the frog in boiling water, the frog will jump out. In this analogy the frog is us, and the water our work environment. The more accustomed we become to our surroundings the less we pay attention to them…. Read More»
Ask someone what they believe in and you’ll likely hear the opposite. Same is true when you ask a team about their project’s successes: they can tell you quickly the issues and drama. Perhaps the positive isn’t as alluring or sexy as the trouble and toil. When it comes to your leadership style, knowing what […] Read more… Read More»
If you’ve ever created a business from scratch, you’ve unquestionably run into this problem: The how-to of your company is entirely in your head, and it’s obvious to you. Articulating it in a way that facilitates your firm’s growth – that part is not nearly as obvious. Maybe, if your temperament is anything like mine, […] Read more… Read More»
What message are you sending when you don’t make time to coach or have one-on-ones with employees? Let me offer a few suggestions: “I don’t have time to talk with my people.” “The meetings and tasks I have to attend and do are more important than you.” “I don’t want to deal with my discomfort […] Read more… Read More»
I’m going to share the policy I’ve been following since my first Tweet in April 2009. It works well for me. You can adopt this policy for yourself or not, as you wish. Ready? It’s really straightforward. I follow everyone back on Twitter. (Just about). There, that’s my policy. Here’s why: For whatever odd reason, Twitter […] Read more… Read More»
Ted and I are big fans of Vineet Nayar’s leadership philosophy that places employees over customers. Central to this belief is turning the hierarchical pyramid upside down. At the top of the inverted pyramid are employees. Central to this seemingly radical move is the disbelief that management holds the answers to business problems or has […] Read more… Read More»
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