Businesses that use social technologies and social media are more likely to lead their market sector, have greater market share than their competitors and use management practices that result in higher margins. So what does that mean for you? Elizabeth Harrin will set the scene about how social and collaboration tools are used at work…
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There are solutions to some people problems that from an outside perspective look like magic. Do one small, simple thing, and large, seemingly intractable problems vanish. In reality, getting to the point where the ‘little simple thing’ becomes visible to the problem solver is sometimes a long, painful and poorly marked path. But this should…
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Bureaucracy is an intriguingly persistent structure. While some argue it is the source of centralized efficiency and organizational effectiveness, many more suggest it is the deranged product of power-mad functionaries with too many delusions of grandeur and not enough friends. What is curious is bureaucracy’s remarkable persistence. For an organizational form of working and organizing…
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None of us are very motivated to deliver bad news to anyone. Sometimes the reason is that we simply don’t like to admit failure. Other times we want to avoid the consequences of failure. Or we don’t want to be the messenger getting shot. It’s not always about ‘us,’ though. We often don’t want to…
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Rules permeate our existence. They are the essence of how we function as a civilized society. They form useful guidance in making complex situations more comprehensible. They are also the bane of all of us who have ever been victimized by a bureaucracy run amok. To understand the influence of rules, it helps to be…
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This webinar is our fourth annual ‘Book Review’ as we close out the year. In December’s webinar Peter and Mark share the microphone in a collaborative conversation. We both love to read, and we love to share what we’ve read with you. In this webinar, we will be discussing the best (mostly) business books we…
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Leadership, by definition, is also about followers and why we follow. Followers display the characteristics of their leaders. If the leader is ‘dedicated/hardworking/trustworthy/determined/loyal’ then so will be their followers. Today one of the great management complaints is the lack of dedication, trustworthiness, loyalty and determination of the current generation (choose a letter of your choice…
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Innovation and creativity are often considered to be interchangeable ideas. And there is a strong sense that creativity is a product of inspiration and sudden insight. The belief is that creativity needs to be allowed to happen, and that attempts to manage creativity are inappropriate, stifling and unnecessary. At the same time, the vast majority…
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Fewer things inspire fear and dread than the prospect of a project being audited. Audits are seen as being painful, intrusive and unrelentingly negative. They are viewed as finding fault, fostering blame and foisting responsibilities on an already overworked project management team. “You don’t want to do that or the auditors will get you for…
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Mindful senior managers need to “wake up” to the fact that only 30% of US workers are fully engaged in their work; only 15% of workplaces inspire real employee enthusiasm and an even smaller number can actually lay claim to the assertion that they are “great” places to work, because employees trust managers.  More disturbingly,…
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