Main Squeeze sent me this a few days ago; said it reminded her of me. You see I don’t enjoy organizational politics at all (who does?) and I’ve never been much good at kow-towing. I shared it with my friend and business partner, who wondered if “wolves”, being great at “lone”, might then not be…
Intuitively, the picture resonates. We’ve all had the petty-tyrant boss; the person who loves the sound of their own voice and is oblivious to the resentment and de-motivation they’re engendering. And most of us can relate to the manager who loves to roll up his sleeves and jump in on the line. But don’t…
When I get time to read again, one of the first books on my list is “Delivering Happiness”, by Zappos founder, Tony Hsieh. Also on that list will be several of the books in the presentation below. Maybe there’s a few here for you too. I’ve only read some of these, so can’t vouch for…
PEOPLE TALK ABOUT having “principles”, but few seem to be guided by their principles consistently, because it’s just too easy to make exceptions. The thing is, if you don’t follow your principles in every case, they’re not principles. Understood and accepted as non-violable, your principles become your “rock” – a steadfast guide to action even…
THIS IS ARGUABLY the most important text on how teams can and should be managed so as to deliver great customer service. Author Jody Hoffer Gittell does a good job of explaining the specific practices Southwest has developed and maintains in order to consistently deliver an airline experience that’s way better than its competitors, and…
THERE IS A lot of leadership advice out there. Hundreds of books, thousands of websites; some helpful, most not. Much of it ignores fundamentals; instead offering adhoc, graft-on, band-aid, random, and arbitrary “solutions” with no foundation, little context and no integration. How are you supposed to remember, internalize, and successfully use “The 21 Immutable Laws…
If you lead a team, why would you have any non-Team Players on it? * * * * * THE term “team player” gets used a lot. But what does it actually mean? Common usage suggests that a “team player” is one who puts team above self. That’s a false alternative with which I don’t…
MY to-be-blogged-about list includes this entry: 360degree Reviews, Employee Performance Appraisals, Formal Disciplinary Action. All bunk. These are methods for school children. No, on second thought, school children also deserve the respect of being communicated with as adults. Ultimately, as our culture matures, these things will go. I’ll get to writing that up more fully…
NUMBER 96 on Forbes’ 100 Best Quotes on Leadership reads: “My responsibility is getting all my players playing for the name on the front of the jersey, not the one on the back.” The author is unknown. I wish they weren’t, because they need a lesson in team management. The goal is not to get…
HERE’S some material to get you thinking about innovation. First, my take. To foster innovation in your organization, here’s a quick & dirty list, (in no particular order), of elements to consider: 1. Employ for diversity. If you want different points of view (and innovation depends on it), you need lots of different ages, cultures,…
