For the start of a new year, I thought I would draft a letter you can use with your employees — a way to challenge them to be better in all that they do in 2012. If you like it, please feel free to use it (or edit it as you wish). I find this...
Read moreIf you aren't yet familiar with the Dunning-Kruger effect you’re missing out (and if you are, you’re bound to be pleased to be reminded of this old friend). It’s an idea that explains so very many aggravating things in the world of business, and perhaps the world in general.
Read moreWe had our office holiday party last night. Almost everyone came and brought their special someone. We all had a terrific time.
Read moreForget the calendars and Christmas sale TV ads. To my mind, winter only starts when everyone I see on the train in the morning is wearing a scarf. And this week, everyone was. So it must be official – winter’s here, and 2011 is almost over.
Read moreThe young are often perceived as crusaders for a better, cleaner, fairer way of doing business, and there is some evidence that this folk wisdom on youthful idealism is correct. A recent analysis by Pew found that the younger the person, the more likely they are to support clean energy and environmental protections.
Read moreCulture: it is the foundation of all great organizations, and the lowest common denominator of performance. Your company’s culture can attract and retain the best employees, or send the best away. Your culture can encourage innovation, opportunity-hunting and responsiveness, or it can encourage employees to simply show up and not make a difference.
Read moreGary Hamel, in his weekly WSJ.com blog, writes about the Facebook generation and ways fortune Fortune 500 companies aren't prepared to deal with this new crop of workers.
Read moreI was in the mall this week (bad idea). A large Santa’s village, complete with Santa and his minion of elves, was dwarfed by the queue of kids waiting to sit on Santa’s lap to share what they wanted for the holiday. I remember (years ago!) bringing my three kids to visit Santa and how their...
Read moreWhen I speak with managers, especially senior-level managers, a common complaint I hear is, “How can I get my team to make more decisions on its own?” It’s a good question and one all managers need to spend time answering. If too many decisions — especially on relatively small things — are made by the...
Read moreManagers have enormous impact on people performance both positive and negative. However, there are too many examples of the negative impact that bad managers have on people and performance for us to ignore it the way we do. And we do ignore it. Too many organizations react first to poor performance by blaming the employee...
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