A recent Businessweek article (September 24, 2010) explained the recent fall from prominence of Finland’s mobile phone manufacturer Nokia this way: “Nokia clung to the idea that mobile handsets were mainly for phoning people. That was a disastrous call”. By comparison,… Read More ›
One of the down sides of mixing the richness of language, and the intelligence and creativity generally represented by successful managers, is the jargon, acronyms, and occasional gobble-de-gook that passes for effective manager communication in many organizations. Especially in most large organizations,… Read More ›
Most managers with a sizeable span of control are likely to encounter a variety of generations to engage on a daily basis. One is probably your generation, the others will often represent younger and older employees, each representing a world view, set of… Read More ›
Over the years, I have had the occasion to review and evaluate the Employee Orientation and Management/Leadership training programs of a variety of organizations. My reviews have included the curriculum for both programs, the substantive content, the core messages, and… Read More ›
During my interviews with practicing managers, I normally ask them at some point “what keeps you awake at night”? While the substance of their concerns varies, they always have some answer. The point is, all managers take some of their… Read More ›
I’m sitting by Lake of the Woods in Northern Minnesota one recent morning, enjoying the sun rise, when I ask my sister-in-law about the most difficult part of her job as a sixth grade teacher. “Managing my frustrations”, she replied… Read More ›
Feedback! Oh how we love it, right? Well of course it depends. If it’s good feedback: great. The bad stuff: that’s not so great. As managers, we generally echo the above. We usually enjoy heaping praise on the well deserved… Read More ›
Language is powerful. Consciously or unconsciously, words convey and create powerful, evocative, emotional and lasting images both from the perspective of the user and the receiver. Over time, most organizations and their managers develop their own particular language to describe… Read More ›
Managers, do your subordinates work under, for, or with you? An interesting question don’t you think? I recently interviewed a retired manager and when I asked her how she would like her former subordinates to describe her, she replied “I… Read More ›
A senior executive colleague of mine once told me he took great pride in his ability to fill managerial openings with high quality people. “I could always just close my eyes”, he said, “and picture at least five faces all… Read More ›
Insights on Managing and Leading 