The vast majority of organizations are designed and managed as moneymaking machines. But the most telling word here is not moneymaking but machine. It reflects the notion that the business organization is solely an instrument designed to efficiently and effectively generate profit for its owner—the business of business is profit. It is a notion born [...]
Archive for March, 2010
Sense-of-mission
Posted in Leadership, tagged Business of business, human spirit, Leadership on March 26, 2010 | 13 Comments »
Hidden Lessons in Leadership #4
Posted in Leadership, partnership, tagged Leadership, partnership, relationships on March 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Kip Tindell, Container Store CEO, shares important fundamentals of leadership in a New York Times Corner Office interview. At base Kip’s underlying belief about the business of business is not the usual it’s nothing personal it’s just business but rather to the contrary, business is very personal. The foundational principles of the Container Store reflect [...]
A Competing Fact
Posted in Leadership, partnership, Systems Thinking, tagged human spirit, Leadership, management, partnership, relationships, Systems Thinking on March 17, 2010 | 7 Comments »
Many say competition brings out the best in us. Is this fact or fiction? Let’s assume it is fact. Accordingly, since we want the best to emerge from whatever involves people we must make it a competition. We want a winner to incite the rest (of us losers) to become winners. No one wants to [...]
Hidden Lessons in Leadership #3
Posted in Leadership, tagged Leadership, relationships on March 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Adam Bryant’s New York Times interview with Tachi Yamada, M.D., president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program, reveals essential abilities for anyone interested in making a difference to the organization. Yamada points to the importance of communicating to those with whom you are conversing that you care about them by not [...]
Need to Suspend not Defend
Posted in Leadership, Quality, tagged Business of business, Decision-making, Leadership, Learning, Progress, Quality on March 10, 2010 | 2 Comments »
While we know that Wall Street is in New York City, it’s not so obvious that it is in every publically traded company as well. Wall Street’s influence on the focus of those leading the organization cannot be overlooked. Wall Street’s impact on executive-level (corporate) decision-making is similar to the impact that thought has on [...]
Misinterpreting Data
Posted in Statistical Thinking, tagged Decision-making, Learning, Statistical Thinking, Systems Thinking on March 8, 2010 | 4 Comments »
The March 5, 2010 New York Times headline read, “jobless rate holds steady, raising hopes of recovery”. Apparently it doesn’t take much to raise hope, at least among those doing the reporting. Why is two consecutive points with the same value (i.e. 9.7% in both January and February) a reason for hope? Would two consecutively [...]
Hidden Lessons in Leadership #2
Posted in Leadership, partnership, tagged Development of Self, human spirit, Leadership, relationships on March 4, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Since examples can illustrate successful practice, many aspiring leaders often search for them to direct (their) action. And just as often those copying these examples fail. Why? Because they really don’t know what to copy! Rarely do people critically think about the examples in an effort to develop understanding of why the practice is effective. [...]
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