“I keep six honest serving men they taught me all I knew, their names were what and where and when and how and why and who“ Rudyard Kipling On many occasions in this series of articles, I refer… Read More ›
decision making
COMMUNICATING A DECISION
A common criticism of management, is the announcement of an important decision with little explanation, rationale, or indication of the precise results they hope to achieve. When it’s a senior management decision junior managers have to explain to their workforce,… Read More ›
THE BOSS WHO CAN’T DECIDE: MANAGING POOR MANAGERS
Almost all of us have had to deal with a boss whose own management style and set of management skills left something to be desired. Managing up — as it is called — is relatively easy when one’s boss has… Read More ›
IGNORING A PROBLEM IS ENABLING THE PROBLEM
There are certain types of workplace problems that few managers wish to confront. For example: A personal hygiene issue; The frequent use of inappropriate language around co-workers; A suspected alcohol or drug abuse issue; A suspected violation of workplace time… Read More ›
The Abilene Paradox
What do you call the phenomena when a group of people silently agree on the dubious merits of an idea or course of action but either remain silent, or agree to do it anyway? George Washington Psychology Professor the late… Read More ›
PROBLEM SOLVING: WHAT ARE THE REAL ISSUES INVOLVED?
Abraham Maslow, famous for his theory of the “Hierarchy of Human Needs”, also had this to say about problem solving: “If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail”. No manager has only one… Read More ›
DECISIONS: WHAT IF ALL YOUR OPTIONS SEEM WRONG?
Some time ago, I read a “New York Times” article by Wolf Biermann, a German author who has lived on both sides of the Berlin Wall. Its title was The Tragedy of Angela Merkel. In explaining the conundrum he… Read More ›
THOSE ELECTRONIC SCREENS: A CAUTIONARY NOTE
Not long ago, I was walking along a corridor in the facility where I go several times a week to put my aging body through regular physical workouts. I passed by a gathering of four young teens huddled in close proximity… Read More ›
CONVERSATIONS BEAT PRESENTATIONS ANY DAY
When we hear the term presentation we tend to think of something prepared; something formal; something thought out and through ahead of time. In essence, something created in advance. We also tend to think of something of length rather than… Read More ›
KNOWING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS TO ASK: CONNECTING THE DOTS
In her fascinating book entitled The Silo Effect; The Peril Of Expertise And The Promise Of Breaking Down Barriers author Gillian Tett– a social anthropologist, an award-winning journalist and a senior editor for the Financial Times — describes far too many… Read More ›
What Best Mnagers Know & Do 