In a previous post, I laid out the basic model for understanding the deep underlying knowledge that drives our lives which I’ve called our “Fundamental Organizing Principles.” These FOPs form the foundation for not only what we hold to be true, but also how we see the world around us and interpret what we think we see. Recent work in the area of understanding the human brain and outlined in several books reviewed on this site (Brain Rules and The Believing Brain) give credence to the proposed model.
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fundamental organizing principles, Leadership, Management, Shaping the Corporate Culture
One of the (many) attributes ascribed to great leaders is that they know who they are. They are sure of who they are being and it is very likely they have thought deeply about why they are so. Without that self-knowledge and confidence they would not be as effective in their leadership. They would be at the mercy of circumstances.
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fundamental organizing principles, Leadership, Management, Shaping the Corporate Culture
There’s a 17 month old boy running around our vacation home. He is just full of joy and curiosity. Everything is exciting and needs to have a word attached to it. He is adding words to his vocabulary at an amazing rate. The adults seem not to be able to move fast enough to “baby proof” the place or answer all the questions about “whatz at?” When did we grow out of that joy and insatiable curiosity? How do we get it back?
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Creativity, Intrinsic Motivation, Joy, Leadership, Management, Shaping the Corporate Culture
“My job is pretty prescriptive. I know I have so many parts to complete on the production line and you’ve given me the tools, training and autonomy to do that. So I appreciate the thought that if I reach a stretch goal for production you will reward me with a bit of a bonus in my paycheck. Not every time, every day, but for special projects, recognizing my extra efforts is appreciated.”
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Autonomy, Leadership, Management, NUMMI, ROWE, Shaping the Corporate Culture
“I know you keep trying. And I know somehow, it isn’t working. You keep fiddling around the edges trying to figure out what will motivate me to do what YOU want. Stop breaking your pick on this. You can’t motivate me. There’s only one person who can motivate me and that’s ME. You are not doing your job as a manager if you fail to create an environment where I have some autonomy.”
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Communication, Creativity, Knowledgeworker, Leadership, Management, Shaping the Corporate Culture
Later in life, my mother became an artist; a painter. She worked in oil on canvass. Her skills progressed as she learned more from teachers and mentors and then began to teach students herself. I remember seeing her canvasses in various states of completion and was often intrigued by how she painstakingly and carefully selected frames for the final product. She would make her own choice if the picture was to hang in a show or other display. Or she would collaborate with the purchaser to select a frame that not only enhanced the painting but would “work” in that persons home. Framing, it seems, was not a simple thing.
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Communication, Framing, Leadership, Management, Reframing, Shaping the Corporate Culture, Words
Recently, on one of the e-mail lists to which I subscribe, a colleague mentioned that he had been counseled by one of his mentors that the best thing he could do for his good employees was to fire a bad employee. Sounds harsh. Yet it is true that for the greater good, we have to sometimes admit that we will not be able to help an under performing employee to make the grade. It’s best for them and for the organization if we “make their services available to industry.”
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Growing Edges, Leadership, Management, Retaining top talent, Shaping the Corporate Culture
Finding people is a consistent problem we encounter just about every time we ask CEOs or key executives what their biggest issue is when it comes to hiring. If it isn’t in the top three it is always in the top five.
Yet when you ask them what their process is to find top talent most reply in the same way, “We run ads” or “We post it internally.” That is the way 80% of all companies go about finding people.
Below are three real life examples of alternative ways of finding people.
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hiring top talent, Interviewing, interviewing mistakes, Networking, passive candidates, Shaping the Corporate Culture
“We,” that is the royal we, are apparently in no mood to put up with politicians, greedy executives and big bankers on Wall Street. Main street, as the saying goes, “hates” Wall Street. No leader of big organizations (including religious and other not-for-profits) or small business owner is exempt from this disgust with the rich and powerful. How did all this happen?
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Communications, Ethics, Opinion, Shaping the Corporate Culture, Trust
A friend volunteers a the local public library where he sorts and prices the donated books for the used bookstore portion of the library. He knows I speak on Business Ethics and so he called the other day to announce that he had a “really old book” titled “Ethics in Practice.”
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Governance, Leadership, Management, Shaping the Corporate Culture
