Thoughts on people, teams, organizations, communities, effectiveness and success
“The young man knows the rules but the old man knows the exceptions” suggested Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Holmes, one of the 20th century’s most influential public figures, was on to something.
While youth (and fresh eyes) serve well with certain types of situations – think Emperor’s New Clothes, quant analysis, or the brilliance behind the Apple’s designs – wisdom from elders is something that you can’t find anyplace else.… Read the rest
The world continues to be an interesting place, and Quora – the online question and answer site – is my current favorite place to find interesting things.
From the sincere (“What do you think about startups founded by Japanese college students“) to the ridiculous (“What should we think about Jon Stewart when he called Barack Obama ‘dude’.… Read the rest
We’re living in an interesting time; information that appears material or conflicting by the optics test for companies goes unmentioned.
At one hand we have the purchase by a senior Berkshire Hathaway exec of stock of a company that was subsequently bought by the firm (see this WSJ piece ) or the flap regarding whether Apple was legally required to provide information on CEO Steve Jobs health (see this article from the NY Times on the release of material information).… Read the rest
I’m having lunch and a close-out conversation with an exec coaching client in Silicon Valley today. She has made obtained great results with small changes; her boss thinks she’s doing great and frankly so do I.
And she’s got a lesson or two that you can use.
One of the things she’s done is slowed down and let her direct reports (and a colleague or two) lead part of the conversation.… Read the rest
McKesson Corporation, where I worked as a senior exec for over a decade, had a habit of the yearly reorganization – usually in March right before the start of the fiscal year on April 1. Reporting relationships changed, some people got shifted, some people got whacked, and business continued along.
Rarely did things in terms of the running the business significantly change.… Read the rest
Results announced yesterday of 20-year study by Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in conjunction with AT Kearney found that companies that exclusively promote CEOs from within the ranks – as opposed to hiring outsiders – routinely outperform companies that hire CEOs from outside the firm.
The finding, I’d suggest, should hardly be any surprise. Organizational leaders have four or five hurdles to clear to be effective in organizations; effectiveness with colleagues, direct reports, and bosses (CEOs, investors, boards of directors), sector proficiency, managing change and organizational culture.… Read the rest