Thoughts on people, teams, organizations, communities, effectiveness and success
I had coffee with a colleague I’ll call Andy; he’s got a problem.
You might have the same problem too.
Subject? How to (finally) get an offer from a firm that’s been courting him for 10 months. Position scope change, multiple lunches and interviews, headcount freezes and freeze liftings have all come and gone without “the offer we’ll be giving you” actually happening.… Read the rest
While the Twittersphere exploded with Presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women” it shouldn’t have been any surprise.
Guess what? Romney has lot of company. Many, many organizations lack decent diversity at the leadership level of one sort or another, whether it be racial/ethnic diversity or male/female diversity.
What’s “decent” diversity? Enough of something to have a critical mass and not the one token person of color or one female (or male) on an otherwise homogeneous executive team or board of trustees.… Read the rest
Your boss has been hired to take another job and will be leaving the company. Or perhaps your boss has been whacked and that’s the reason the job is now vacant.
Either way that box in the organization chart that used have a name is empty.
Do you raise your hand and volunteer to take the job on an interim basis, or do you wait to see if you get tapped – and decide then if you want “interim” next to your name?… Read the rest
Steve Jobs changed millions of lives. I know; he changed mine too.
From time to time people come along who greatly inform you, either by their immediate presence or the impact of their work.
Jobs did both; from the “insanely great” products he strove (and drove others crazy) to build to the example he set as a maverick (“pirate” might be his preferred youthful self-description).… Read the rest
The trickle down process is in high gear.
Steve Jobs takes a second medical leave and everywhere business people are scurrying around to do or dust off CEO succession plans.
The fact of the matter is most people avoid contingency planning (Tornado? What tornado?) like Republicans and Democrats avoid candid, authentic dialogue about taxing and spending realities. Succession – particularly at the most senior levels like the CEO – invites thinking about the unthinkable; things like death, firing, or getting “your guy/gal” at the top swiped by another competitor.… Read the rest