Sustainable Advantage: I don’t know how we can claim we have a sustainable competitive advantage unless, that is, that we believe that advantage to be our ability to learn faster than the competition. Technology is moving much too fast for us to think that some sort of product or service is really our competitive advantage. But continuous learning, a willingness …
Behavior: One of my leadership mentors, author David Marquet, makes it clear that in his experience, if you want to effectively change people’s behavior, you have to change the environment. I learned that lesson again recently when my assistant, pictured here, exhibited unwanted behavior. It was my own fault. I came home from a photo shoot and put my camera …
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 sea away from the rocks …
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 main job and that is …
Actively Managing the Corporate Culture The leader in most organizations has many and varied tasks. If the organization is large enough to have a significant leadership team, then the CEO receives help in the day-to-day operations and can delegate initiatives, duties, or projects. In small companies, including start-ups, of course, the leader/founder shoulders much, if not all, of the work. …
Real World: Fresh out of engineering school and excited to begin my new job, I enthusiastically started work on test equipment design for a digital fuel-control. One of the more memorable experiences was working with the technician assigned to our team. He was (is?) a true craftsman. He built the circuit-boards we designed in a neat, logical, and efficient manner. …