Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, laid out his five-point plan for an interconnected system for an interconnected world. (A New System for a New Century: Fortune, 4 February 2013.)
It struck me that many MDs of medium-sized companies would be very familiar with Schwab’s five criteria.
One client was not over the moon about my rather in-depth overview of Henry Mintzberg’s Management (and HM includes leadership under management). Another said my newsletters are too long.
Fortunately I discovered my notes made in 2005 on Jack Welsh’s Eight Rules of Leadership.
Welsh, formerly CEO of General Electric, was named the top manager of the 20th century. read more »
“Success depends on a company’s ability to unleash the initiative, imagination, and passion of employees, and this can only happen if all those folks are connected heart and soul to their work, their company and its mission.” read more »
Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed? You just have too much to do and cannot really cope at that moment?
I recently reread a book and three articles on totally different subjects when it struck me how related they were.
All had a single message: Keep it simple. read more »
Running a business can be taxing. Setting new strategies to cope with new external trends and forces means change. The economic situation adds new demands.
A very interesting article Leadership in a (Permanent) Crisis by Ronald Heifetz Alexander Grashow, and Marty Linsky appeared in the Harvard Business Review of July/August 2009. It’s as relevant now as when it appeared. I thought the final few paragraphs were especially applicable to a number of my clients.
Country economies are still adapting to new global economic conditions. Uncertainty will remain the norm. The authors cautioned that the “work of leadership demands that you manage not only the critical adaptive responses within and surrounding your business but also you own thinking and emotions. This will test your limits. Taking care of yourself both physically and emotionally will be crucial to your success.” read more »
Some of my clients have read Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. I bought a copy in 1993 but only read it in 1999 – and regretted not having done so sooner.
It is with sadness that I learned of his passing this month – which led me to rereading The Seven Habits. Through the years I have read a number of Covey’s books and also valued The 8th Habit.
While The Seven Habits in style is not a classic business book, it covers the domain of leading/managing in an intriguing and thoughtful way. It prompted me to write this post. read more »
An article titled “First, let’s fire all managers” captured my attention. If you are an MD or a manager it should halt you in your tracks.
We are all so used to the idea of having managers around that we might find the notion of doing away with managers downright impossible or absurd. Well, we all know that the role of managers has changed in the last three decades. The advent of the internet has drastically altered communications and the flow of information internally. In addition, employees, especially young employees, are drastically different from their managers. There’s simply less of a need for traditional managers. read more »
keywords: management, self-managementHave you lately experienced the invigorating jolt of a new insight? Five great articles came to my attention during the past few months and their content for me suddenly gelled into one cohesive interlinked whole.
Some of my clients whom I coached experienced – each at their own pace – a similar realisation. Something clicked. The light went on. Eyes showed sparkling recognition. An insight had occurred. read more »
keywords: coaching, communication, leadership, strategyMost MD and managers have no idea how little their staff learn during an important coaching session. What to do to ensure more learning and new behaviour?
Most of us know that our listening retention ability is between 7% and 9%.
read more »
During a recent trip a client and I discussed seven principles developed by Peter Drucker, as encapsulated by him in a Harvard Business Review article in September-October 1988.
Drucker’s stature as a thinker about management and business in general, is virtually unrivaled. I have slightly shortened his writings in the paragraphs that follow. read more »
keywords: management, organisation, Peter Drucker