The subject of the call with the pharma CEO was not new territory for either one of us: the non-executive chairman of his company’s board wanted to micromanage and get deeply involved when he had the time or interest, and would go missing in action when the heavy or unpleasant work (like letting the founder know he was off the board of directors) came around.… Read the rest
[Veteran’s Day 2009] Your Song
Yesterday marked Veteran’s Day across the United States: it also marked the 6th anniversary of my father’s passing in 2003. A proud veteran of World War II, he had lived a good and long life when he died at 96 years old.
He was born at a time before airplanes, MTV, Xerox photocopy machines, cell phones and even the Internet. None of those events seemed to impact him much – throughout most of his life he got great joy out of reading books and talking with people, both activities which have been done for centuries.… Read the rest
The End of “High Potential” Employees: What Does It Mean for You?
My doctor Michael Sdao practices what he terms “evidence-based” medicine: he puts his faith primarily in approaches and procedures that have been validated by substantiated research. While it’s not necessarily the most daring of approaches, in the main the outcomes (knock on wood) have been pretty good.
Organizations, on the other hand, are pretty hit and miss as it pertains to using human capital systems and processes that have been validated by evidence based research.… Read the rest
[Coaching Tips] How to Effectively Assess Things (including Kindergartens)
Just as you would in choosing a new hire, choosing a job, choosing a boss, or even choosing a mate, knowing how to make an informed assessment is critical. It is the stuff that any coach who works with executives or leadership teams (like me) should be able to do in their sleep, and it’s the type of thing that any layperson should learn and know how to do.… Read the rest
[Career Coaching Tips] Your Job: Leave or Stay?
Signs of a slow recovery abound which should mean that some form of job uptick will occur. While it’s pretty clear that a rising economic tide will not lift all ships – some jobs, for example, are likely lost forever – the 18-month logjam in the job market appears to be breaking up.
The question for many, as people start to take new jobs with other companies, and their jobs and other jobs as well start to open up, is easy: Stay or go?… Read the rest
[Trick or Treat] The Trouble with Incentives
As a senior at Tigard High School, the Prom Queen was selected by a canned food competition between the three high school classes. The goal was to incent students to both show school spirit and bring in canned foods for people who were less fortunate and needed the food to eat to live.
Both competitive and adventuresome sorts, my class’ winning solution was to tin-cup class members for cash, and then ditch school to go buy canned foods at discount retailers that sold marred (but perfectly eatable) canned goods at a discount.… Read the rest