Thoughts on people, teams, organizations, communities, effectiveness and success
Fortune Magazine’s November 23, 2009 issue features Willbur Ross in the “Best Advice I Ever Got” section. It’s well worth the quick read. My favorite line: “The biggest risk is the question you forgot to ask because the danger is always something you don’t know.”
Ross speaks to two blind spots possessed by many organizations and their leaders – even mine as a solo practitioner consulting firm.… Read the rest
I had lunch with Littler Mendelson’s Lindbergh Porter today, an early Thanksgiving of sorts.
Seeing him reminded me that career choices and life opportuniities come to us in all sorts of ways and at times both convenient and awkward. Each choice you make has some consequence, both foreseen and unknown.
Lindbergh and I had worked together in the ’90’s when I was his client as an SVP of Human Resources.… Read the rest
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
As my colleague Margaret O’Hanlon has blogged at the Compensation Cafe, merit budgets in 2009 are tiny: the upshot is that most employees won’t see a salary increase. At a time of 10.2% national unemployment, the goods news for the folks who have them is that they have a job – the bad news is they’ll see no compensation reward for hard work and performance this past year.… Read the rest
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
The holy grail of management development programs is being able to assess skills, and predict who will – and who won’t – succeed. The hits and misses of what it takes line the walls: IQ and schools attended have become big misses, perseverance in trying and “grit” have become big hits. While work by researchers such as Carol Dweck, K.… Read the rest