3 words that'll change your life. (MoneyWatch) It happens every day. Your boss, a customer, somebody needs something done yesterday. No, they don't need it done now. That somehow fails to convey the unbelievably critical sense of urgency of what they need done. Nope. Today's not good enough. You actually have to go back in time and get it done before you were asked. Not to dump this entirely at the feet of management.
All hail that holiest of all business acronyms: ASAP. If everyone would just learn how to say one thing, organizations would be more effective, the workplace would be less stressful and businesses would be more successful. Here are five examples of how learning to say, "Tomorrow's another day" can improve your and your team's performance, not to mention lower your blood pressure: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Next time you get stressed out, maxed out, burned out or just stuck, say those three words. Image courtesy of Flickr user of jimbrickett © 2012 CBS Interactive Inc.. Win the Pitch: Tips from Mastercard's "Priceless" Pitchman - Kevin Allen. As a growth officer in my early career with the mad men and women of McCann Erickson, my mom could never quite grasp what I did for a living.
But, when we pitched, won and delivered the phenomenon now globally known as Priceless for MasterCard, she could finally brag to her friends at my Aunt Rose’s kitchen table. From the moment the very first television commercial appeared (You remember it, right? “Two tickets: $28. Two hot dogs, two popcorns, two sodas: $18. In one of the industry’s most hotly-contested advertising accounts, dozens of agencies’ pitches were winnowed down to two contenders. We all make pitches every day — for that highly-prized account; to a client who’s reluctant to accept your scary proposal; for a skeptical CFO to loosen the purse strings; or for a wary new team to believe in you. 1. There are no magic tricks or hypnotics to persuade people to do what you say. 2. To find the hidden agenda, you need to identify your audiences’ wants, needs and/or values. 3. 4. Leadership and the art of plate spinning - McKinsey Quarterly - Organization - Change Management.
I often ask business leaders three simple questions. What are your company’s ten most exciting value-creation opportunities? Who are your ten best people? How many of your ten best people are working on your ten most exciting opportunities? It’s a rough and ready exercise, to be sure. What makes this problem particularly challenging is a number of paradoxes, many of them rooted in the eccentricity and unpredictability of human behavior, about how organizations really tick. Rather, our research shows that the most successful organizations, over the long term, consistently focus on “enabling” things (leadership, purpose, employee motivation) whose immediate benefits aren’t always clear.
Many CEOs instinctively understand the paradox of performance and health, though few have expressed or acted upon it better than John Mackey, founder and CEO of Whole Foods. Change and stability A large universal bank provides a case in point. Control and empowerment Consistency and variability. 12 lessons to learn from Sir Richard Branson. Ο κατά Σωκράτη ορισμός του μορφωμένου ανθρώπου... Why Great Leaders Are in Short Supply - James S. Rosebush. By James S. Rosebush | 9:06 AM March 30, 2012 We’re living with something of an irony right now regarding leadership. On the one hand, the topic has never been more studied and written about; my recent Google search for leadership research by academies and institutes returned some 375,000 hits.
On the other hand, we are experiencing a dearth of leadership in society. We see fewer prominent leaders who seem genuine and highly capable, and many who have been compromised, deposed, or defeated. From my own perspective as someone who has had a front-row seat to leadership over a few decades, it isn’t so much that today’s leaders fall short of the capabilities or character leaders had in the past. Privileged access to information.
Is it any wonder that the Web became the greatest fear factor of every dictator? The reflected glory of their institutions. Are institutions truly less noble, or is it that they, as well as their leaders, are subjected to more relentless scrutiny? 5 timeless leadership lessons. (MoneyWatch) COMMENTARY Forget all the latest leadership concepts and fads. Forget all the platitudes and parables, the laundry lists of attributes and qualities. Forget all the executive coaches, mentors, researchers, and inspirational gurus. Forget all the books and blogs. I've got something you can read in less than an hour that will teach you everything you need to know about leadership. No, I'm not kidding. Of course, you can't just read it and walk away a great leader. 5 business books that made a difference10 leadership lessons from MachiavelliWhere does leadership come from?
I came upon this little treasure in 1995. Hanging around the business book section of a large used bookstore searching desperately for some inspiration, a little paperback caught my attention. The beat-up book, written in 1985, set me back $2.40. Here are five timeless lessons I've excerpted. Knowing What Is Happening When you cannot see what is happening in a group, do not stare harder. Self-Improvement. 10 things you should learn to say. Mid adult businesswoman holding glasses and looking sidewards. istockphoto absolut_100 (MoneyWatch) COMMENTARY It happens to everyone. You'll be talking to friends or watching a movie and somebody says something that, for whatever reason, strikes a resounding chord with you.
I wouldn't describe it as an epiphany because you probably weren't even aware of how much it spoke to you. But that particular phrase somehow resonated with your situation and state of mind at that point in time. After a while, you probably won't remember when you first heard it or what you were going through that made it stick with you like it did. But every so often, that phrase pops into your head and you use it. Over time, it becomes part of your toolbox, your belief system, your internal compass, what you stand for. It's the same thing with companies - a collection of beliefs and behavior becomes part of the culture. My work doesn't define me. What should I do differently? Do the right thing. How am I doing? What it takes to captain the mighty the All Blacks – and lessons for business | What it takes to captain the mighty the All Blacks – and lessons for business. Organisational behaviour India’s economic rise has been dramatic. But as the growth slows, what does the future hold?
Lynda Gratton offers a personal view. India has been an important part of my life for over 15 years. My first professional visit to the country was with the late, great, Professor Sumantra Ghoshal as we put together the newly launched Global Business Consortium (GBC). What we saw was a country defined by diversity, energy and potential, but also a country defined by inequality, poverty and crisis. In many ways, India has changed dramatically since I first visited. Download the full article. Lessons learned from 25 years in business.
In the past 25 years, Abby Hardoon watched technology transform the world and turn business on its head. 25 years ago when I started my first tech company, a "tweet" was something that commonly came from a bird, a home computer was, for the majority, a calculator and social media was sitting in front of the television with a family member. There is no doubt that the pace of technological development and advancement in those years has been dramatic - or, some would say, unparalleled, feverish and like nothing ever witnessed before. With 1989 heralding the advent of the World Wide Web, the stage was most definitely set for big ideas to spread like wildfire and, for those who could glimpse the future, to get very rich, or very poor, very quickly. But what have been the lessons? In the many twists and turns of a life in the technology business, what are the main things I’ve learned?
Be prepared to move FAST Attention to detail Success is in the details. Don’t be afraid to adapt. Management advice that works. (MoneyWatch) I always question management advice books because I think, "Does this really work, or did the author just dream up a theory just so he could write a book? " The only useful advice is, of course, advice that helps people become better managers. I asked readers about the best management advice they have received, and here is what 10 of them had to say: - "For those times when you tell someone to do something just because you're the manager: Every time you hit someone with the 'management' stick, it breaks in half. " - "Getting bad news early is good news. I've found it applies to nearly all walks of life. " - "Never tell or ask someone to do something you're not willing to do yourself. Always remember how it felt to be the one managed, and take that into consideration when managing others.
" - "My boss tells us all the time that the reason we are successful as a clinic is that she has made a point over the years to hire people smarter than she is. " What's your best management advice? The mindset of great leaders. Do computer geeks and math geniuses smoke? Of those surveyed, 12.8 said yes. istockphoto Commentary: (MoneyWatch) The most common feedback I get about my leadership seminars, whether at the University of Southern California where I teach or at corporations, is, "I thought this was going to be garbage, but I was surprised -- it's really good! " People say that as if they've given me a great compliment. Would a surgeon feel about good a patient telling them: "I assumed you didn't know what you were doing, being a surgeon and all, but you correctly removed my gall bladder, not my left leg! " Except that the critics are right. Prove your worth In one sentence, here's how to become a better leader and make your organization more effective: Do what the evidence says to do, and then go beyond what's known and imagine what's possible.
I'm an empiricist (in the same way some people are Republicans or Democrats). Ignorance isn't bliss The problem is, we don't do it. Where the evidence leads.
Growth Isn't Rocket Science - HBR IdeaCast. Why now is a great time to be in business. (MoneyWatch) It's a lousy time to start or grow a business, right? Wrong! Over half of America's Fortune 500 companies started during a depression or recession. As far back as the first century BCE, Horace noted that "Adversity reveals greatness; prosperity conceals it. " Pictures: 11 cities that want to be the next Palo Alto These companies either started or prospered during an economic downturn or depression: Motorola was started in 1928, a year before the great depression began.Disney was founded in 1923, releasing "Steamboat Willie" (the first Mickey Mouse movie with synchronized music and sound effects) in 1928.Hewlett-Packard started in 1939.
More recent examples include FedEx and Microsoft - both founded during the Stagflation of the 70s. Economic downturns haven't just favored start-ups. Groupon started in November 2008, at the beginning of the 2008 financial market collapse. Yet thousands of businesses collapsed during these same times. Entrepreneurs are problem solvers. Don't put off the basics when starting your biz. (MoneyWatch) When speaking with or advising people starting new companies, or already running small ones, I've found that they often avoid, delay, or otherwise neglect to put some simple but critical business needs in place.
Generally it's because they (like any responsible entrepreneur) want to save money, or because they think they "don't need these things yet. " But there are structural and operational fundamentals that are best dealt with before you think you need them. Some of them involve a little out-of-pocket, but it's money better spent early in the game: Legal structure: Many ventures start at home, as sidelines, or in otherwise small and modest fashion, with no legal structure. For some businesses -- like selling crafts in your spare time with no plans to turn it into much more than that -- this might be OK. Employee manual/written policies: Once you start hiring, the sooner you put employee policies and other information in writing, the better.
. © 2012 CBS Interactive Inc.. Three Skills Every 21st-Century Manager Needs. The world of work has changed dramatically over the past decade. Companies are more global and employee groups more diverse than ever before. Organizational structures are less hierarchical and more collaborative. And today’s networked offices are full of technological distractions that would have been unimaginable to the 20th-century manager. We asked experts in cross-cultural communication, information networks, and the science of attention what specific skills executives should cultivate to tackle these new challenges.
Skill 1: Code Switching Between Cultures To work well with foreign colleagues, you may have to risk feeling inauthentic and incompetent. by Andrew L. Marco, the Italian COO of a technology company in Mumbai, can’t motivate his Indian employees. So what’s holding them back? Executives often feel inauthentic when their behavior conflicts with their ingrained values and beliefs, and doubly uncomfortable when others assume that it is a true reflection of who they are. What Business Can Learn from Organized Crime. When 10 men attacked the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai, in November 2008, they executed one of the best-orchestrated, most technologically advanced terrorist strikes in history.
Before the assault they had used Google Earth to explore 3-D models of the target and determine optimal entry and exit routes, defensive positions, and security posts. During the melee they used BlackBerrys, satellite phones, and GSM handsets to coordinate with their Pakistan-based command center, which monitored broadcast news and the internet to provide real-time information and tactical direction. When a bystander tweeted a photo of commandos rappelling from a helicopter onto the roof of one of the buildings, the center alerted the attackers, who set up an ambush in a stairwell. It took three days for authorities to kill nine of the terrorists and arrest the tenth; his confession provided details of the operation, which had resulted in 163 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
Outsource to specialists.