“How could you possibly have missed this? “Where were you when this was going on”? No manager likes to have these questions put to them because there is simply no right response. You are the boss, you are in charge,… Read More ›
Managing & Leading
MY DOOR IS ALWAYS OPEN
Almost all managers will at some time tell their subordinates that “my door is always open and you should feel free to tell me exactly what is on your mind”. But we all know that this commitment applies to only certain… Read More ›
FACING A DIFFICULT CONVERSATION: LISTEN FIRST
My wife was a practicing nurse in a physician’s office for many years. We often talked about how many doctors just didn’t seem to appreciate how nervous most of us get sitting as patients in a waiting room wondering if… Read More ›
BEING SMART
A number of years ago, Carol Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford, undertook a remarkable study of over 400 fifth-graders from 12 New York City Schools designed to see if praise for innate intelligence (being smart) versus praise for hard work… Read More ›
ANGER MANAGEMENT PART II
A reader of my recent blog on anger management in the workplace told me that while he agreed with the importance of giving expression to one’s anger, he noted that what often challenges him is the when and the how…. Read More ›
THE RIGHT CALL?
I live in Portland, Oregon, home of the National Basketball Association’s Portland Trailblazers. There remains a sense of deep regret among our sports fans that their 2007 number one overall draft pick Greg Oden never made a significant contribution to… Read More ›
ANGER MANAGEMENT
Michelle Fay Cortez contributed an important Management & Leadership tip in the December 7, 2009 edition of “BusinessWeek” (P. 057). Entitled “A Little Anger Is a Good Thing”, Ms. Cortez sites a study that appeared in the Journal of Epidemiology… Read More ›
PETER DRUCKER
In its November 21st edition, “The Economist” paid homage to the late Peter Drucker who four years after his death remains in their words, “the king of management gurus”. But what I always admired most about Mr. Drucker was his… Read More ›
IN SEARCH OF COMMON GROUND
Recently my wife and I finished watching the HBO special “John Adams”. Throughout the series two things struck a powerful cord in me. First, how lucky we were as Americans that with no long, indigenous national history or established political… Read More ›
UNTESTED ASSUMPTIONS
I am often asked what I believe is a manager’s worst enemy on the job. My favorite answers is “AN UNTESTED ASSUMPTION”. And is it ever easy to assume them and act on them to our detriment. A lot has… Read More ›
What Best Mnagers Know & Do 