Every organization has politics. Every business has a power base and a structure. And every organization has internal and external barriers that need to be straddled, worked-around or overcome. This often means that success comes not from following the rules but from delivering outcomes. And this also means that success also comes with inherent failure [...]

There is no doubt that we are facing challenging times. Within many workplaces we are losing experienced workers as they are either retrenched or retire, replacing them, if at all, with the sea of less experienced Generation Y. This is part of a structural realignment that has been underway now for some years, with many [...]

You know the type. They are there in your office somewhere – a flash in their eyes, a zing in their step, a perspective that surprises. And while we all consider ourselves to be creative on some level, there are those in your business who really do walk to a different tune. This is often [...]

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Pixel Heart Photography
One of the proven methods of extracting innovation from an otherwise stale organization has been to embark upon “skunkworks” projects. These are projects that are cobbled together by passionate instigators within an organization who see an opportunity to build upon or extend something they have happened across in their day-to-day [...]

The global economy continues to experience extreme volatility as we digest and react to what is arguably the most severe financial environment many of us have ever witnessed. The latest development, involving the proposed colossal intervention -– a.k.a. “bailout” – by the US government to ease an ever-expanding crisis, has not yet alleviated the markets’ [...]

When you take a look in the mirror, what do you see? Is it the confident, articulate leader that others see? Is it the approachable, open, yet decisive leader that you believe yourself to be? Or could there be another kind of leader lurking in the shadows?
Marshall Goldsmith tells an interesting story about the behaviors [...]

Brick walls are not there to keep us out. They let us show our dedication.
– Randy Pausch
Randy Pausch was an extraordinary leader. This is his “last lecture” on achieving childhood dreams. The idea for this lecture is based on a series of lectures by recognized academics where they are asked to consider personally important topics [...]

When it comes to leadership, no matter how much a leader may seek the valuable input from their village, at the end of the day, the final decision, regardless of the matter at hand, is the leader’s all alone.  This fact makes for interesting management of the decision-making process.  To be sure, leaders have different [...]

mirror, mirror
Originally uploaded by Emu stardust
Tom Davenport writes a blog over at Harvard Business Online, called The Next Big Thing. His latest post talks about the Wall Street Journal’s Top 50 Business Gurus that I wrote about here, and responds to the criticism around the lack of women represented in the list. And while this [...]

Since coming onto the scene in 1982 (yes, 1982!), Madonna Louise Ciccone [aka Madonna] has achieved accomplishments unrivaled by any other artists in the music industry…EVER. She has sold over 200 million albums, conducted the highest grossing concert tour by a female artist, has become the top earning female singer in the world with [...]