Most people behave acceptably at work, despite too high a level of employee disengagement across the entire workforce. However there is a minority of people who behave unacceptably and are definitely disengaged. These people cause the greatest problems and weaken the enterprise culture dramatically. This is where I get most requests for help, when the […]
In helping my senior leader clients master their role, I ask them to consider developing a pentagonal mindset. The foundational element is values. Values are the rules of the game, why and how we think and behave. To break them is to be in dishonour. A dishonourable leader has no future. The next element is […]
I sat before the C-level leaders, four of them – the CEO, the COO, the CFO, and the CIO. We were planning a development program for the direct reports to the C-level. I asked whether any of the C-level would attend. “No” came the firm reply, “We’re too busy and we’ve all done this sort […]
Most businesses that have been operating for any length of time have ‘sacred cows’ – those people, attitudes, equipment, issues or systems that never get fairly challenged, critiqued or corrected. Often they are protected due to misguided loyalties, fear, habits or just plain not knowing how to deal with them without risk. There is often […]
Warren Buffett, in his 2014 letter to shareholders said: “My successor will need one other particular strength: the ability to fight off the ABCs of business decay, which are arrogance, bureaucracy and complacency. When these corporate cancers metastasize, even the strongest of companies can falter.” Arrogance, Bureaucracy and Complacency! They are the symptoms of the […]
Business, whether to consumers or other businesses, can no longer afford to operate under a competitive model or mindset. Large dinosaurs (remember Kodak) that move slowly, with shareholder value top of mind, may continue to seek dominance. But they’ll be gone before they know it. Being competitive in business now when information and choice is […]
Fluctuating economies, fears of deflation, terrorism, global unemployment increasing, climate change. Uncertainty, volatility, ambiguity, chaos and disruptive change seem to characterise our world. We’re finding it difficult to trust our governments, politicians and business leaders. They don’t inspire us with authentic values and vision, beyond appealing to our self-interests around survival, security and surety needs. […]
I plead with you for your answers to these five questions: Why, when we know the value of leadership and the massive return on investment in having effective leaders, do we not invest sufficient and realistic time and energy in developing effective leaders? Why, when we know that shared values drive sustainable desired outcomes for […]
Fear is the greatest common motivator. Its only antidote is courage. We have been bombarded with messages of fear from all those seeking control. Those seeking control range from extreme dogma, unethical government, criminals, unethical marketers and their intentional or unintentional messengers. None of them offer compelling values, vision or goals. They flog fear instead. […]
Just saying “I’m holding you accountable for delivering this” does not mean that accountability has been achieved, even if the response is “OK”. I recently sat in on the monthly meetings of an executive team over three months and heard the leader repeatedly say “I’m holding you accountable for our agreements today”. The problem was […]
