Leading people to do something important
Leading people to do something important involves (a) making a promise and consistently delivering, (b) helping people bridge the gap between aspiriations and reality, (c) paying attention to the small stuff that can lead to excellence or disaster, and understanding the meaningful work is what really motivates us. Finally, asking the right questions helps the leader keep his or her personal bearings and the direction of the organization on the proper course. Mar 11
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The Folly of Stretch Goals - Daniel Markovitz
by Daniel Markovitz | 1:39 PM April 20, 2012 Let's dispense, once and for all, with the managerial absurdity known as "stretch goals." While it's true that renowned psychologists Edwin Locke and Gary Latham described goal setting as "the most effective managerial tool available," it's also true that no less a thinker than W.E. Deming insisted that companies, "Eliminate management by objective." In my opinion, there can be no such debate over the lack of usefulness of stretch goals.
by Linda Hill & Kent Lineback | 12:22 PM April 3, 2012 We consider the ability to manage a team so important that, in a recent book , we made it one of the "3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader:" Manage Your Team — the first imperative — is about creating a real team and managing through it. For the record, the other two imperatives are Manage Yourself — which is about building relationships based on trust, not authority — and Manage Your Network , which is about connecting and collaborating with those you don't control. "Manage your team" might seem clear and straightforward. Yet when we talk about it, we often find it's not an intuitive concept for many managers and for some it even cuts against the grain of what they think they should do as bosses.
Good Managers Lead Through a Team - Linda Hill & Kent Lineback
by Bill Taylor | 9:14 AM April 4, 2012 Adam Lashinsky's new book Inside Apple offers lots of intriguing material about Steve Jobs and the strategic choices, design principles, and business tactics that created the most valuable company on earth. But for all of Lashinsky's behind-the-scenes material about Apple's legendary leader, it was a public story about Apple's new leader, CEO Tim Cook, that captured my attention — and offered a powerful insight for leaders everywhere looking to create value in their organizations. The story goes back to January 21, 2009, during Cook's inaugural conference call with investors after Jobs announced his medical leave of absence. The very first question, Lashinsky reports, was from an analyst who wanted to know whether Cook might replace Jobs permanently and how the company would be different if he did. Cook did not respond with a detailed review of the products Apple made or the retail environments in which it sold them.
It's Not What You Sell, It's What You Believe - Bill Taylor
His saga is the entrepreneurial creation myth writ large: Steve Jobs cofounded Apple in his parents’ garage in 1976, was ousted in 1985, returned to rescue it from near bankruptcy in 1997, and by the time he died, in October 2011, had built it into the world’s most valuable company. Along the way he helped to transform seven industries: personal computing, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, retail stores, and digital publishing. He thus belongs in the pantheon of America’s great innovators, along with Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Walt Disney. None of these men was a saint, but long after their personalities are forgotten, history will remember how they applied imagination to technology and business.
The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs
You're the boss, but you still spend too much time on the day-to-day. Here's how to become the strategic leader your company needs. shutterstock images 359 in Share Connect with Evernote:
6 Habits of True Strategic Thinkers
Make a promise and deliver
Breakfast with orange juice. Every day of your life. Sweet, tangy orange juice.
In all of the pundits' discussion of why President Obama is in trouble, and may lose to Rick Perry in a general election, the most single important factor has been overlooked. This missing ingredient is what turns an inspirational person, like Candidate Obama, into a true leader.
Bridge the gap: aspirations and reality
01 Apr 2010 This lively RSA Animate, adapted from Dan Pink's talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace. Download RSA Animate - Drive (MP4) You are welcome to link to, download, save or distribute our audio/video files electronically. Find out more about our open access licence . Video file hosting and streaming is provided by GroovyGecko
Know what really motivates people
Skip the Bonus: Give Them a Real Project
Science has managed to reveal some crazy things that fly in the face of almost every commonly accepted management practice. Here's the latest: Rewards for top performers lead them to worse performance. And if you want to foster innovation, bonuses won't work either.by Polly LaBarre | 2:27 PM November 10, 2011 Some fifteen years ago, in the early days of starting up Fast Company magazine, co-founder Alan Webber shared one of his rules of thumb with me: "A good question beats a good answer." That pithy wisdom sunk in and took hold immediately. The first thing you notice when you have your ears pricked for questions is that most people (especially businesspeople) are more interested in presenting solutions, making assertions, and sharing their vision. This isn't surprising. School programs us to focus on producing the right answer, and the job description of a leader for the last century has basically been "the person with all the answers."
