“The whole human side is now more important than skills or IQ. Everything we hear from clients is about the human aspects of leadership,” reports Rajeev Vasudeva, CEO of the Egon Zehnder executive recruiting firm. In a feature article on today’s “ultra-tight job market,” Fortune magazine concludes, “across industries, employers are prizing people skills, the […]
Read post »What’s the impact of being one of the 100 best companies to work for? What does it take to join this elite group? How does your organization or team compare? Since 1998, Fortune magazine has partnered with Great Place to Work to create its annual list of 100 best companies to work for. This year’s […]
Read post »Is work a four-letter word for many people on your team or in your organization? Is Monday morning the toughest time of their week? Are your team members mumbling “I owe, I owe, it’s off to work I go” as they trudge off to check into their “day prison?” Or do most members of your […]
Read post »In his 1990 book, Creative Work: The Constructive Role of Business in Transforming Society, Stanford’s Willis Harman wrote, “Business, the motor of our society, has the opportunity to be the new creative force on the planet, a force which could contribute to the well-being of many… the modern corporation is as adaptable an organizational form […]
Read post »A new McKinsey & Company study reports that the training industry “estimated to be more than $50 billion are delivering disappointing results. According to a recent Fortune survey, only 7 percent of CEOs believe their companies are building effective global leaders, and just 10 percent said their leadership development initiatives have a clear business impact. […]
Read post »In the fall of 2016 the Chicago Cubs ended a 108 year drought to win the World Series. Television ratings soared by 50% as baseball fans everywhere were caught up in this dramatic and engaging story. In their World’s Greatest Leaders rankings, Fortune magazine ranked Cubs president, Theo Epstein, as #1 leader for orchestrating this […]
Read post »Fortune magazine has just published this year’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For.” Since 1998 the research and consulting firm, Great Place to Work, has been conducting the most extensive employee survey in corporate America. Drawing feedback from more than 232,000 employees at companies with more than 1,000 employees, measurements are ranked and […]
Read post »The December 1 issue of Fortune magazine has an in-depth profile of Satya Nadalla, the new CEO of Microsoft entitled “The Man Who is Transforming Microsoft.” Writer, Andrew Nusca, was “on the road with Satya Nadella’s traveling rival show” during a recent whirlwind tour of Europe. During those busy few days Andrew gained insights into […]
Read post »Alvin Toffler, former associate editor of Fortune and bestselling author of books such as Future Shock, The Third Wave, and Powershift advises, “You’ve got to think about ‘big things’ while you’re doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction.” This is an update of ancient wisdom from the Roman […]
Read post »Recently I delivered a keynote presentation on culture and leadership development at a senior leader’s conference. Robert Richman also spoke at the event sharing his insights and experiences as co-creator of Zappos Insights, a program for educating companies on the powerful culture of Zappos that catapulted the American online shoe retailer from a startup in […]
Read post »Next month’s Extraordinary Leadership Summit and Coaching Symposium will be the fourth one I’ve participated in since forming our partnership with Zenger Folkman. Three intense and powerful days of workshops, Client presentations, panels, and discussion groups provides a rare chance to hear about the latest leadership, coaching, and organization development research and practices. We’re especially […]
Read post »A few months ago I had a lengthy and very engaging conversation with freelance writer, Diane Peters, on using money as a motivator. She’s just published an excellent article in CPA Magazine with further research and practical tips on this critical management issue. Here are a few of Diane’s key points from “Cash Disincentive” that […]
Read post »With last week’s death of the “Iron Lady,” former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, many world leaders and commentators looked back on her forceful and charismatic personality. Charismatic leadership is a popular media stereotype of strong leadership. As much as I’ve enjoyed reading Fortune magazine for the past few decades, they keep adding to this […]
Read post »Tomorrow is Halloween. So it’s fitting to read a very well written piece in Fortune about “how smart companies are facing the doomsayers with great ideas and fearless moves.” Senior Editor at Large, Geoff Colvin, has been a long-time favorite business writer of mine. He often shows how the best leaders build the strongest companies. […]
Read post »If you’re a father I hope you enjoyed Father’s Day and were treated like a king. I tried to get our three kids — although they’re now in the twenties and hardly kids anymore — to give me the gift of laughing at all my Dad Jokes all day long. But they would not groan […]
Read post »The company is at a critical leadership crossroad. As with many fast growing startups, their pioneering product development and marketing power made them a major international success. Now Lazaridis and Ballsillie face the critical entrepreneurial growth test: can they shift from building the business to building an executive team that builds the business?
Read post »Catching up on my reading I recently came across a pair of Fortune articles on the vital importance of storytelling for leaders. Management often relies on directing, telling, and bossing – even if politely saying “please.” Leadership seeks to influence thinking and behaviors. We’ve all found ourselves resisting someone else, not because of what they […]
Read post »My last post reported on fascinating research from the world of honey bees providing profound and practical insights on building highly effective teams. Team effectiveness depends heavily on the team leadership skills of the person heading up the team. Here’s a look at recent and emerging research on team leadership for stronger team building. “Great […]
Read post »What does Toyota’s ongoing recall problems and Tiger Woods’ infidelities have in common? They’re both a great source of material for comedians and late night TV. They are also very expensive, make sensational headlines, and have tarnished stellar brands. But an especially interesting leadership link is how these two big news stories vividly demonstrate today’s […]
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