Shaping the Corporate Culture
A Championship Team
According to John McGrath: “A championship team will always beat a team of champions.” A young entrepreneur I know put it this way, “I would much rather play on a championship team than on a team of champions.” His sport, in college, was basketball. He pointed out that if you watch the college teams you […]
Skills versus Nature
Nature: Along with Corporate Culture, Employee Engagement is a hot subject these days. On the topic of engagement, I’ve been wondering about how we allow our people to get back to what Dr. Brian Little refers to as their “restorative niche.” I think we are not allowing for that. And not doing so may be […]
Safety
Playing it Safe According to Bill Taylor, founding editor of FastCompany magazine, playing it safe may be the riskiest path of all for your organization. Safety can be a trap, in that you never move forward. Two activities in my past are sailing and rock climbing. When a storm approaches, large ships move out to […]
Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast
Drucker and Fields It’s my understanding that Management Guru Peter Drucker coined the phrase “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” I also understand that Mark Fields, CEO of Ford, made it popular. All of which is fine with me. What I know from experience is Drucker’s statement is absolutely true. And I will be so bold […]
Leadership and Engagement
According to Gallup The numbers rarely change. In the U.S., the annual Gallup survey shows that about 70% of our employees are NOT engaged. Meaning, they are putting in no extra effort to move the company forward. Employee engagement is the engine of productivity. Job #1 The CEO, Founder, Owner of a company has one […]
Uber and Out
Culture Trumps Everything Yes, culture trumps everything AND . . . money still talks. On Tuesday, 6/20/17, Travis Kalanick, the co-founder of Uber resigned, as CEO. He had taken a leave of absence the week prior, but that wasn’t enough to satisfy those wanting to protect their investment in Uber. So, while Kalanick will remain […]
Once Again, Banks Violate Our Trust . . .
Leadership Owns This Scandal And just where was (is) the leadership at Wells Fargo in this ethical failure? What kind of culture would lead an employee to even consider falsifying emails, establishing unauthorized accounts, issuing unauthorized credit/debit cards, collecting fraudulent fees and impacting customers’ credit scores? How can customers ever trust Wells Fargo again. Full […]
Book Review: The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni
In his usual engaging style, Patrick Lencioni has expanded on his previous book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, to show us how to make sure we find the ideal team player for our next hire. Through a parable he shows us how to recognize and cultivate the three essential virtues named as humble, hungry […]
Book Review: Everybody Matters by Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia
I am grateful that I had Chapman’s book “on the shelf” (in the electronic reader) to read. I had just finished Jeffrey Pfeffer’s book, Leadership BS, and was pretty down based on what I had read. What a delight and contrast, to pick up Chapman’s and Sisodia’s book. It has renewed my faith in human […]
I’ve Got Your 6
I don’t remember now where I first heard this phrase. It was a long time ago though. I remember figuring out what it meant from the context in which I heard it. Recently, I heard it again but the context wasn’t quite as obvious and so I wanted to be sure I was right about […]
