Howard Becker Oustiders I (Howard S. Becker, that is) have created this page primarily to make things I’ve written and published in obscure places available to anyone who wants them. From time to time I’ll add to what’s here, as well as provide news on topics of interest to people who know me or are interested in what I’m up to. What’s here now, first of all, are some papers I’ve published over the years. Then there’s some news of what I’ve been up to and will be up to in the reasonably near future. Another section lists a few websites that deal with things I find interesting or important and would like to recommend to anyone who gets this far. Finally, there is a little gallery of photographs, some from my days as a musician, as well as some vintage portraits of a few of my sociological heroes, including Everett C. Students who are looking for information for a paper you are writing about me or to prepare for an examination, please click here. Drop me a line here via email.
How can business leaders balance change and continuity? | Guardian Sustainable Business | Guardian Professional If achieving innovation and operational excellence is about understanding the importance of diversity - continuity and change is about how to allocate resources across different activities. There is a need for change: we, individually and organisationally, need to adapt to changing circumstances if we want to avoid becoming redundant. However, there is a balance that needs to be found between change and continuity: if everything were changing all the time we would sink into chaos, not knowing in which direction to go, or what to do first. Three considerations are important for finding the equilibrium between continuity and change in your organisation: • A deep understanding of the specific context of your organisation and in which it operates• Taking a holistic approach• Being aware of, and working with, all facets and implications of human nature 1. Industry context: some industries change faster than others. Taking a holistic approach Taking human nature into consideration
Is Leadership Missing In Gov? Federal employees are losing faith in their agency leaders, according to a new report from Deloitte and the Partnership for Public Service. It was the first drop in effective leadership in 9 years. Employees gave effective leadership a score of 52.8 out of 100 points in the Partnership’s 2012 survey, a decrease of 2.1 points from 2011. Dan Helfrich is a principal at Deloitte Consulting. "The results of the survey aren't that surprising but they are sobering. Complex Period of Time for Leaders "Great leaders lead in all different contexts. Empower Your Employees What the data tells us is that empowering employees to provide their perspectives on key issues is the number one thing. Let Employees Speak "The data on the question of how satisfied are you with the involvement with the decisions that affect your work, was surprising. Leadership Development "For those of us that care about government leadership, we need to reflect on how we are investing in our leaders. Recommendations
Ten Top Tips for Leaders 1. Have a Vision for Change You cannot expect your team to be innovative if they do not know the direction in which they are headed. Innovation has to have a purpose. It is up to the leader to set the course and give a bearing for the future. You need one overarching statement which defines the direction for the business and which people will readily understand and remember. 2. Innovative leaders constantly evangelise the need for change. 3. VCs use a portfolio approach so that they balance the risk of losers with the upsides of winners. 4. Great suggestion schemes are focused, easy to use, well-resourced, responsive and open to all. 5. To achieve radical innovation you have to challenge all the assumptions that govern how things should look in your environment. 6. Give all your people two key objectives. 7. Many CEOs see collaboration as key to their success with innovation. 8. The innovative leader encourages a culture of experimentation. 9. 10.
Principal investigators as scientific entrepreneurs - Online First Although principal investigators are key actors in scientific fields, there is little focus on what they actually do in shaping new scientific directions. This paper studies PIs practices to better understand their roles. Our central contribution is to identify the different ways in which PIs engage themselves in science, in implementing four main practices: ‘focusing in scientific discipline’, ‘innovating and problem solving’, ‘shaping new paradigms and models’ and ‘brokering science’. While ‘focusing’ and ‘innovating’ remain close to project management, ‘shaping’ and ‘brokering’ look more like entrepreneurial activities, shaping new horizons, reshaping boundaries between subfields and among organizations. External orientations to how they engage in different practices shapes PIs roles to articulate different worlds and to reshape the boundaries of organizations, knowledge and markets.
Corporate Responsibility Report Released – Now What? By Tim Mohin, Director of Corporate Responsibility, Advanced Micro Devices This week, AMD released its 18th annual corporate responsibility (CR) report. After working for months and months to gather data, write the content and finalize the report, it is easy for the report’s release to seem like the end goal. And after all the work that goes into producing a CR report, it’s tempting each year to go into hibernation after it’s issued! So, what’s next? 1. Today AMD’s newly released 2012/2013 “full report” weighs in at over 120 pages. You don’t have to be a communications genius to know that this format will turn off most audiences. We're working on the premise that our content has staying power year-round to create new and engaging dialogue—ranging from infographics to videos— after the initial release. 2. constant tweets (follow @TimMohinAMD)! One way AMD has continued dialogue with socially responsible investors is through a “road show” to discuss our strategy and performance. 3. 4.
How to Influence People with Your Ideas - John Butman by John Butman | 11:00 AM April 30, 2013 One of my young clients, let’s call her Julie, is on a mission. Julie has an idea, one that has been gestating in her mind for quite some time, but now she realizes that for her idea to have any impact at all she will have to “go public” with it. Julie believes there are countless intelligent, talented but disadvantaged kids who, for a variety of reasons, have been shut out of traditional educational pathways and are therefore at risk of never achieving their full potential. She asked me: What do I have to do to get my idea out there? In essence, Julie wants to become what I call an “idea entrepreneur” — a person who builds a coordinated effort around a deeply-felt idea with the goal of achieving influence, affecting how people think and behave, and thus making some change in an organization or system. Aspiring idea entrepreneurs are everywhere: in businesses, classrooms, and communities of all kinds, all over the world. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Trust Encourages Innovation Many of you have brought up the subject of trust in our interactions on open innovation. I agree that trust is an essential component for open innovation. It also comes at many levels – internally as well as externally. As trust is the basis of any successful, long-lived relationship, you should begin to look into the below questions if you are serious about open innovation: • What does it take for you to trust others? • How do you convince your external stakeholders to build trust in you and your company and then start forging strong relationships? I have long argued that companies should look more at the people side of innovation rather than concentrating all their efforts on processes and concepts. Why? What are the barriers against building trust and relationships with stakeholders in your eco-system? • Most organizational structures foster an internal rather than an external perspective. • Forging strong relationships takes time and personal commitment. What should you do? inShare31
La valse tragique à trois temps de l’innovateur en entreprise En août 1914, l’armée française entre en guerre avec une doctrine rétrograde entièrement basée sur la revanche de la guerre de 1870. L’heure est à l’offensive à tout crin. Les nouvelles technologies (avion, téléphone, fusils automatiques, etc.) sont méprisées au profit d’une conception héroïque de l’action militaire, triomphe de l’esprit sur la matière: on refuse ainsi d’apprendre aux soldats à se protéger des tirs ennemis car cela serait contraire à l’honneur du soldat. Le résultat est connu: une boucherie effroyable. Ce qui est moins connu, c’est que dès les premiers échecs, l’armée se renouvelle profondément; les règlements ineptes sont abandonnés en quelques heures, à tel point que quelques semaines après, c’est une armée totalement transformée, devenue la plus moderne du monde tant sur le plan des équipements que de la doctrine, qui fait face l’ennemi. Comment cette transformation aussi rapide et aussi profonde a-t-elle été possible? Like this: J'aime chargement…
New MBA Series: How Today's Students Become Tomorrow's Sustainable Leaders « Back to Home Page MBA students and graduates have always been key members of the 3p community – both as readers and writers. That’s because many of the themes and issues in sustainable business that we cover every day are core themes in the classrooms at the world’s most prominent sustainable MBA programs. Now we want to hear more directly about how sustainability is being taught. The intersection of business education and sustainability, why it’s an important topic for tomorrow’s business leaders to study todayBusiness and sustainability education pedagogy: lessons learned and tips for professorsNew research findingsKey themes that emerge from classes related to sustainabilitySummaries of projects from the best and brightest studentsWhat makes each sustainability program specialAnd general thoughts on the state of sustainability in business We have a number of guest authors lined up, but we’d love to hear from you too! Check back tomorrow for the first article!
Why the best leaders have a bit of self-doubt Skip to main content Browse All Briefs by Topic Why the best leaders have a bit of self-doubt Forward to a friend 05/3/2013 | CBS MoneyWatch When it's time to pick a new boss, those in charge "shouldn't be seduced by the smug and the brash but should look out for the smart leaders who don't quite know how good they are," writes Margaret Heffernan. View Full Article in: CBS MoneyWatch Education | Educational Leadership | Business | Best Practices Series Published in Briefs: SmartBrief Job Listings for Education View More Job Openings ©2014 SmartBrief