One issue that has remained constant over the years is that of dealing with organizational decline from the inside.
Growing frustration with the lack of accountability and poor performance by leaders has led to a significant loss of talent for organizations, often bringing into question the organization’s goals and method of achieving the desired results – not only by the consume...
Donald DePalma describes the Internet as similar to “discovering the Eighth Continent,” because it –
“…confounds legislators and cultural purists worldwide who do not know what to make of the Web-based globalization phenomenon that threatens to make their geographic, political, economic, and cultural boundaries almost meaningless.”[i]
Of course, th...
“Egos drive people in every occupation.”[i] But when humility is absent, leaders lose the ability to listen and focus on what is important.
Jim Collins describes the resulting behaviors as “arrogant neglect”. When these behaviors exist, organizations enter the first stage of organizational decline.[ii]
In his research comparing ‘good to great’ compani...
In his excellent book, The Leadership Mystique, Manfred Kets De Vries looks at the importance of a leader’s ‘interior’ condition and how this influences all interactions with others [i]. He asks questions such as:
What are the problems that preoccupy the leader?
What has emotional resonance for the leader – or connects deeply with him or her?
What is the person...
In 2007, Robert Eckert, the CEO of Mattel Toys, chose not to recall millions of toys he learned had contained excessive lead. Instead of taking responsibility for the products and their failure to comply with safety standards, he blamed the Chinese manufacturers.
While some might argue Eckert was brave to resist a global product recall with huge financial implications for his company, others...
At the risk of revealing how unwise I have been, I can recall numerous times I have been lost.
One time as an 8-year old going to the supermarket for the first time after our family had relocated to a new neighbourhood. My mother was horrified when she learned that my brother and I had gone the wrong way and crossed six-lanes of traffic on the busy Princes Highway. Another time as a 23-year ...
In 2006, Dr. André Martin for the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), analyzed global trends in order to paint a picture of the challenges and needs facing organizations as they seek to develop leaders to guide them through the complexity and uncertainty of the future.[i]
His research sample was 800 leaders aged 29-70. The organizations they led ranged in size from 11 employees to 1...
You make thousands of decisions every day—ranging from smaller insignificant ones, to those of great importance. But have you ever stopped to think about how you make decisions?
Why is it that some leaders find it easier to make certain decisions than you do? When you are confronted with a difficult decision, do you go with your instinct or do you seek consensus or approval from others...
“The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be” (Paul Valery, 1871-1945)[i].
Much could be said about our changing world—economic volatility, political and civil unrest, epic levels of national debt, corrupt governments and the impact of new technologies on the labor market.
While not exclusively, there is no doubt that the online world has a...
As a child growing up in the 1960’s and 70’s, ‘Gilligan’, ‘Skipper’, the ‘Howells’, ‘Ginger, the movie star’, ‘The Professor’ and ‘Mary Ann’ were familiar names as characters in CBS’ hit television series, Gilligan’s Island.
For 98 episodes the characters looked for a way to get off the island whe...
