The words that we use matter. They shape our attitudes, shape our behavior, shape the very way that we think about the world. Words can inform, empower and inspire.
But in an age of commerce, where the language of finance and resources seeps in to the way that we manage people, have the words led us to lose sight of our common humanity?… Read More»
Yes, our organizations are many things. One thing they are NOT, however — at least for most of us — is a center of wellbeing.
People who write (and obsess) about the things I write (and obsess) about often reference statistics and studies about things like employee engagement. You’ve probably heard stats like two out of every three people in the US are not engaged at work. This is true, terrible, and a helpful measurement for us to understand what’s going on, but what if there’s an even bigger problem to contend with?… Read More»
The exploration of creating your body of work begins with the exploration of your roots, or what Pam Slim calls your purpose, beliefs and convictions. In essence these make up the foundation from which you create your body of work…. Read More»
My friend Erich and I have probably logged thousands of miles cycling together. In all conditions – cold, wet, early, or in the fading warm July sunlight – we have ridden these Maine roads together. And when you train with someone for long enough you recognize their strengths (he climbs like a scalded cat), odd proclivities (he prefers riding on the right side of someone else), and their hesitations (he often descends cautiously)…. Read More»
Today’s show features Christine Bader, the author of The Evolution of a Corporate Idealist: When Girl Meets Oil. She is a Visiting Scholar and Lecturer at Columbia University, where she co-teaches a course on Human Rights and Business, and a Human Rights Advisor to BSR (Business for Social Responsibility)…. Read More»
We met for breakfast in the ground floor restaurant of the antique Foshay Tower (now the W Hotel) in downtown Minneapolis. My breakfast guest was the renowned cartoonist, John Bush. Now deceased, his syndicated cartoons were at that time white-hot. I was there to learn how his mind worked since my co-author, Ron Zemke, and I were in search of someone to illustrate our new business book…. Read More»
The ‘good old boys network’ has represented the club where big decisions are made behind closed doors or on the golf course. The boys club has historically had the dark side of being exclusive and only male. No girls allowed. Yet, they did one thing right. … Read More»
I believe passion to be the single most important asset we have as individuals, SMB’s and corporate leaders. Passion differentiates us consistently over time, and it needs to be nurtured, evolved, and invigorated by the people entrusted to keep it true and alive. Two years ago I was given the distinguished honor of giving the keynote address in a conference full of Middle and High School Principals. What a pleasure it was to be in the presence of such passionate and dedicated leaders. There I debuted a framework for leadership and systems improvement I had been working on, and am still using to this day. Here’s a peek…… Read More»
Whether you are a start up organization, a non-profit or enterprise business, community managers can contribute to the success of your company in many ways. For instance, a community manager can help with research and development at a lower cost and provide more accurate data than focus groups. They can also decrease the cost and response time for customer support by responding instantaneously on Twitter and reducing the use of call centers. By adding a community manager to the team, employee engagement and employee referrals can increase and save on recruiting costs…. Read More»
In April of 2010, the world watched in horror as millions of barrels of oil flowed into the Gulf. But, it wasn’t just the catastrophe and the potential environmental destruction that had us glued to the news networks. It was BP’s handling of the crisis. While their crude flowed, CEO Tony Hayward made blunder after blunder. Three weeks after the explosion, Hayward called the spill “relatively tiny” in comparison with the size of the ocean – 6 weeks later he said he’d like his life back, and 6 weeks after that, a shell-shocked Board put him out of his misery…. Read More»
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