In conversation with CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners, I frequently hear about individuals within the organisation whose performance is ‘sub-optimal’. Digging a little deeper, I hear about the behaviours that make their contribution to the organisation questionable. Here are a few in terms of archetypes: The Bully – angry and threatening The Gossip – undermining…
“Why is it every time I ask for a pair of hands, they come with a brain attached?” So said Henry Ford referring to employees who just don’t seem to do what you want them to. And guess what, he was right! Organisations are full of incompetent people that can’t understand exactly what needs to be said and…
Many stressful and debilitating situations in the workplace can be transformed by a fundamental shift in the way we look at ourselves. Most of us are inculcated from birth with the notion that the way we feel is determined by our circumstances, our environment, our situation – and in particular, our relationships. So that when we…
Every director I’ve ever worked with wants change (even though we’re all meant to hate it). You want more growth, sales, time, influence, certainty; better decision-making, conversations, relationships, sleep, people; less stress, conflict, failure – you get the picture… And you look hard for it – very hard indeed. You re-engineer your business, recruit new people, train them, develop new strategies,…
Now I know you probably haven’t even got time to do your own job, given the welter of legislation that you have to keep up with, the compensation and benefits admin, performance management, compliance, policy development etc. etc. But as the Director of Human Resources, you are the go-to person for all things pink and…
I know you’re the boss and you have a lot of responsibility sitting on your shoulders; you get paid more than anyone else (apart from that consultant you keep hiring) and your neck is on the chopping block if things go wrong, but we need to get a couple of things straight about your actual…
Or 1000% or a million percent or what ever hyperbolic measure you want to impress me with. 100% will do nicely thank you – but not all the time, probably about 30% of the time will do. And I will pay you 100% of your salary, of course. You see much of what you do…
Much of what I read about Leadership on LinkedIn concerns squeezing more out of less. It’s about being more efficient, productive, profitable and successful with the resources at hand. It’s about modelling the behaviours of those around us that appear to achieve these outcomes. It’s about getting it right and never getting it wrong. Regrettably,…
This is a question posed in response to my previous article entitled EGO – the biggest barrier to success. The question itself is of great interest and arguably more valuable than the answer. But I will confine myself to a few concise thoughts that may be helpful: Firstly here are some observations to set the scene:…
I’m sat in Edinburgh airport having just had an update on a company that I was briefly involved with a while back. The company is falling apart and its survival is in the balance. It has: Investment, Technology, Markets, Expertise, Experience, Prospects, Good People… Basically everything it needs to succeed. And yet it may not….
I’ve just read a LI article which got me rather exercised – I think I even started shouting ‘No, no, no…’ at my screen. Here is part of the offending text: I tried hard to make the conversation about her colleagues’ noses, not her armpits, and I tried not to be prescriptive about the solution….
I recently spent a day with the management team of a small banking software house. Nice guys, young, driven and successful… Just one little problem – the management culture that’s got them to where they are today, will keep them there for ever and a day. The charismatic founder and CEO is able enough to…