Innovation. It’s a buzzword that’s so overused it’s tough to understand what it really means and how to capture its elusive spirit. We know we need more of it as businesses are increasingly challenged to produce an outcome that achieves seemingly irreconcilable goals, but we often receive conflicting advice on how to achieve it. When anyone tackles the topic of innovation, the … [More]
Even in the Matrix, Labor Does Have a Price
Matrix teams — formed by bringing together under a new project leader people who already report to another supervisor — is a common method of staffing projects. This is one alternative to outsourcing a project when a business has no team already available that has the requisite skill set. Matrix teams have their benefits and their challenges. There are pitfalls, however, that … [More]
The Alliance
The employer-employee relationship is broken. The old model of guaranteed long-term employment no longer works in a business environment defined by continuous change, but neither does a system in which every employee acts like a free agent. The solution? Stop thinking of employees as either family or free agents. Think of them instead as allies. Managers want employees to help … [More]
The Blind Spot in Sales Management
It’s a simple fact of business: Without sales, no one else downstream can do their jobs. Because of how vital sales are to a company, CEOs frequently tend to misuse their best people. There are three “sins” that minimize the sales management role, which ultimately holds the company back from achieving its growth. When they misallocate key players, small to medium-sized … [More]
The Secret
In this new edition of their classic business fable, Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller get at the heart of what makes a leader successful. Struggling young executive Debbie Brewster asks her mentor the one question she desperately needs answered: “What is the secret of great leaders?” His reply — “great leaders serve” — flummoxes her, but, over time, her mentor reveals the five … [More]
The Leadership Playbook
There are enormous differences between managing and coaching. Yet many companies and organizations encourage their leaders to coach teams without ever teaching them how and without creating a culture that supports coaching. Nathan Jamail, a leading consultant, professional speaker, and the president of his own group of businesses, trains coaches at several Fortune 500 companies … [More]
Predictive Leadership
Most successful, growth-hungry companies begin to miss their projections or worse, not because demand is low or conditions are difficult, but simply because they don’t know how to predict, nurture or even maintain their own growth and success. Most leaders feel isolated, pressured to build on earlier success and maintain total control — the perfect recipe for the 12 most common … [More]
Leadership Blindspots
Leadership Blindspots is packed with detailed case studies examining how blind spots operate, using examples from firms like Apple, Amazon, Hewlett-Packard, JC Penney and JPMorgan Chase. These cases show how a leader’s blind spots can lead to devastating mistakes if they aren’t recognized and acted upon. Author Robert Bruce Shaw examines the most common types of blind spots and … [More]
Power Cues
In this provocative yet practical book, communication expert Nick Morgan highlights recent research that shows how humans are programmed to respond to the nonverbal cues of others — subtle gestures, sounds and signals — that elicit emotion, and provides a clear, useful framework of seven “power cues” that will be essential for any leader. Readers will learn crucial skills, from … [More]
Accountability: Make It Stick
As a leader at your organization, you like to think that you run a pretty tight ship. But if you’re being honest with yourself, you know that you let a few things slide. A missed deadline here and there. A few tiny white lies to clients. The fact that Mike in marketing often over-commits and under-delivers. Your own tendency to talk over others in meetings. In other words, … [More]
Mindfulness and Values-Clarification in the Workplace
Over the past decade, there has been an explosion of interest in mindfulness-based training programs. The impact of the mindful movement can be seen across the fields of psychotherapy, stress management, coaching and sports performance. In the workplace, mindfulness is being hailed for its potential to help employees and leaders stay in contact with present moment … [More]
Manage Distracted Employees
As all managers know, workday distractions are everywhere, stealing employees’ precious time and productivity. Between new technologies that beg for people’s attention to the prevalence of shortened attention spans, everyone on your team has the opportunity to be more distracted today than in the past. Of course, being distracted at work creates numerous problems, from missed … [More]
Companies Must Be Open to Stakeholders Who Criticize
Now is a new age of stakeholder activism. From single billionaires seeking to disrupt boards to activist “Davids” in the field launching stones at the temple of these global Goliaths, more and more passionate — and very vocal — critics are scrutinizing how corporations handle issues like energy, water use, conservation and social justice. “‘Corporate mansions’ have taken on … [More]
How to be an Even Better Manager
This ninth edition of How to be an Even Better Manager covers more than 60 essential topics across the three key areas in which any manager needs to be competent: managing people, managing activities and processes, and managing and developing oneself. Thoroughly revised and updated, with 10 new chapters providing timely advice on topics such as coaching, developing emotional … [More]
Flex
Renowned executive coaches and global leadership strategists Jane Hyun and Audrey S. Lee offer lessons on the vital skill of “Flexing” — the art of switching leadership styles to more effectively lead people who are different from oneself, allowing managers to successfully manage the multicultural workers of today and tomorrow. The book shows managers how to understand the … [More]
Ready to Be a Thought Leader
With the author’s proven seven-step process — and starting from wherever they are in their careers — readers can set a course for maximum impact in their field. These guidelines, along with stories, tips, and success secrets from those who have successfully made the transition to high-profile thought leader, allow readers to create a long-term plan and start putting it into … [More]
Be a Bankable Leader
Why won’t my employees just do what I tell them? Why am I struggling to motivate my team? Why aren’t they giving me the performance I need? These are common questions that plague many leaders. Often, companies promote to leadership employees who are competent technical professionals — who know how to build a bridge, negotiate a deal or justify a capital expenditure. But whether … [More]
Rethinking Leadership Development
Why do most training programs fail to change behavior? One of the main reasons is most focus on the characteristics of leadership; they do not go below the surface, but, instead, focus on visible factors and address them by teaching concepts, tips, introspection and what great leaders do. But leadership, organizations and people are dynamic. Every factor needs to be understood … [More]
