According to Harvard Business School research and an April 2010 article in Chief Learning Officer titled “The Four Myths of Strategy,” more than 90% of all corporate strategies are “not executed successfully,” or the strategies themselves are inferior from the start.
“In reality, most companies craft a half-baked strategic plan that is only partially implemented and has sketchy buy-in at best,” claims the article.
The article then details four commonly held myths about the strategic planning process, including: Myth #1: Content is King; Myth #2: Consensus Equals Success; Myth #3: Exclusion is Efficient; Myth #4: Communication Creates Commitment.
“Strategic planning is not an accounting and forecasting exercise,” the article shares. “It’s not a weekend off-site spent in a room, hashing out who’s willing to go along with what. And it’s not a bunch of words put to paper and placed in a binder. It is a living, breathing, organic leadership action. It requires not a calculator, but the courage and conviction to inspire everyone to be their best and get on the same page. As Academy Award-winning director Francis Ford Coppola once said: ‘The first step in making a good movie is getting everyone involved to be making the same movie.’”
You can read the full article Here
Showing posts with label Leadership tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leadership tips. Show all posts
Monday, 28 June 2010
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
Innovation Quotation
“Innovation is invention times impact. Invention is nice, but if it has no economic or social impact it is useless.”
– Source: Marco Iansiti, author and Harvard Business School professor
– Source: Marco Iansiti, author and Harvard Business School professor
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Imagine leadership - Video
A truly thought-provokingvideo about Leadership. Anyone who is an existing or aspiring leader should watch this.
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
How to achieve a Work-Life Balance
Here's a great leadership tip for anyone in a management position who finds themselves working too hard.
A column appearing in the The Wall Street Journal makes a strong case that effective managers aren’t necessarily the people who work longer hours. In fact, the article argues that one of the tell-tale signs of effective management is that people might actually work less. Many managers and leaders are being swamped by an ever-increasing workload and the pressure to balance work and family commitments. The constant battle to achieve more with less can only be achieved by making some definitive decisions.
“New research suggests some have reached the point where a paradoxical truth applies: To get more done, we need to stop working so much,” claims this article.
Citing the results of a groundbreaking four-year study to be published in The Harvard Business Review, this column claims that scheduling purposeful time away from work responsibilities, “forced teams to communicate better, share more personal information and forge closer relationships.”
It’s important to note that two of the firms profiled in the study are top-performers Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and professional services firm KPMG. Originally, BCG executives virtually had to threaten employees in the study to take time off. By the end of the study, the firm was so pleased with the performance improvement from this initiative that it is rolling out similar efforts in other groups. “It really changes how we do our work,” said a senior BCG partner.
“Amid layoffs and burgeoning workloads, it seems, working any time, all the time, has become a habit,” shares this Wall Street Journal article. “A survey of 605 U.S.
The article also introduces an interesting differentiator in workplace efficiency between “good intensity work” – that positive “buzz” you get from constant learning and involvement – and “bad intensity work” – which is the negative feeling you get from never having time away from your job, from foggy priorities or a lack of control over your life.
“Setting limits on work motivates people to work smarter,” claims the article.
Terms relevant to this article: Leadership tips, management skills, staff productivity, time management, prioritisation, prioritization GVHCAJGCMKFW
Recommended Reading:
Recommended Reading:
Monday, 15 February 2010
Staff Motivation Drops
Article shows there has been a big drop in staff motivation and morale.
If you are looking for a way to boost morale as part of your own leadership development, then this leadership tip will be extremely helpful.
You can read the full story here
Subject matter of this article includes: staff motivation, morale, Leadership tips, leadership development, management training
An article published recently by CNN finds that as tougher economic conditions have led to increased workloads for less pay, employee morale has dropped sharply.
“Forty percent of employees at organizations affected by layoffs say productivity has been negatively impacted,” claims the article. “Of those 40%, two-thirds of them say that morale is suffering and that employees are less motivated than before.”
What’s concerning businesses most about this trend, however, is the corresponding impact these falling attitudes are having on corporate productivity and performance.
"The risk here is the organization's financial health," said business author Roxanne Emmerich in the article. "Employee morale is the leading predictor of future growth and profitability."
In the article, Emmerich predicts that at some point, employers will have to do more to incentivize employees. She recommends rewards that tie into the company's vision and values, but that are not necessarily monetary. "People just want to be recognized for the most part," she said.
You can read the full story here
Subject matter of this article includes: staff motivation, morale, Leadership tips, leadership development, management training
Fancy a Little Light Relief? Here are some interesting links:
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/EmbarassingYouTubeVideos
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/MagicWheel
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/InsiderLeadershipTips
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/ToyTigers
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/Business-Strategy
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/Top10BooksonLeadership
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/publish/DesignerShoes2010
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/BestFootballGoals
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/motorracingwipeouts
Sunday, 14 February 2010
Management Development
Have you ever wondered if you are getting a good return on the money you are spending on management development?
“Despite the billions of dollars, euros, and yen invested in coaching and management development, remarkably few executives can be regarded as skillful managers,” says Gill Corkindale, the former management editor of The Financial Times. In a posting on a Harvard Business School
Answering her own question, Corkindale offers two reasons, saying, “It's my guess that the majority of managers with responsibility for large teams and significant businesses either do not possess the requisite skills of a manager — or they just don't put them (new skills learned) into practice.”
Corkindale then proposes three reasons why executives fail to apply the leadership development skills they learn, including lack of time, budget constraints and the reality that, “behavioural change is difficult.”
Next, Corkindale proceeds to share some of the rules she recommends to help ensure that new managerial development skills are applied, including being open to experimentation and new ideas in learning, trusting that the learning will help, and committing to the plan for a minimum of six months. She also outlines five of the key development areas that she recommends for executives.
Recommended Reading:
Light Relief:
Most Embarrassing YouTube Videos
Magic Wheel videos
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Leadership - Performance Appraisal Disaster
Here are some more great tips for anyone wanting to progress in leadership. Recognise these pitfalls and commit to doing something different in your organisation! Leadership is about leading people. Performance appraisals (performance reviews) are a great tool to help with this task.
Studies conclude that most performance appraisals are an abysmal failure, leading workers to view HR Departments as failures as well.
A 2005 survey of 48,012 employees, managers and CEOs in 126 companies found that only 13 percent of employees and managers – and only 6 percent of CEOs – believe that their performance appraisals are useful. In addition, an astounding 88 percent of respondents said that their current performance appraisal system negatively impacts how they view their HR department. Here are some excerpts from a news release about this study:
• Only 18 percent of people in the survey said that their performance appraisal system effectively differentiates between high and low performers.
• 42 percent of respondents said that the comments they receive from their managers on their performance appraisals are too generic.
• Only 13 percent of employees believe that their manager has an effective method for tracking and recording performance-related events and items.
Click Here read more from this article
RECOMMENDED READING:
Fancy a Little Light Relief? Here are some interesting links:
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/EmbarassingYouTubeVideos
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/MagicWheel
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/InsiderLeadershipTips
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/ToyTigers
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/Business-Strategy
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/Top10BooksonLeadership
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/publish/DesignerShoes2010
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/BestFootballGoals
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/motorracingwipeouts
Studies conclude that most performance appraisals are an abysmal failure, leading workers to view HR Departments as failures as well.
A 2005 survey of 48,012 employees, managers and CEOs in 126 companies found that only 13 percent of employees and managers – and only 6 percent of CEOs – believe that their performance appraisals are useful. In addition, an astounding 88 percent of respondents said that their current performance appraisal system negatively impacts how they view their HR department. Here are some excerpts from a news release about this study:
• Only 18 percent of people in the survey said that their performance appraisal system effectively differentiates between high and low performers.
• 42 percent of respondents said that the comments they receive from their managers on their performance appraisals are too generic.
• Only 13 percent of employees believe that their manager has an effective method for tracking and recording performance-related events and items.
Click Here read more from this article
RECOMMENDED READING:
Fancy a Little Light Relief? Here are some interesting links:
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/EmbarassingYouTubeVideos
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/MagicWheel
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/InsiderLeadershipTips
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/ToyTigers
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/Business-Strategy
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/Top10BooksonLeadership
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/publish/DesignerShoes2010
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/BestFootballGoals
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/motorracingwipeouts
Leadership - Most Companies Are Lousy At Developing It..........
Most companies…and their CEOs…are “lousy” at leadership development, says a Fortune magazine article. A feature story appearing in the January 25 edition of Fortune magazine claims that, “Top talent has never been more valuable, nor competition for it more fierce.” This article claims that the competition for top managerial performers makes it imperative that companies get, “serious about growing their own leaders.” Here are some other excerpts from this article:
• “Even amid today's massive new supplies of talent, there isn't nearly enough of the very best stuff. Even in China, where you can hire factory workers by the million, companies can't find enough managers. ‘They're constantly getting stolen away,’ says Tom Johnson, former CEO of Chesapeake Corp., a packaging maker with a plant in China. ‘Labor is abundant, but management is scarce.’”
• “The No. 1 skill companies seek in managers is ‘ability to motivate and engage others.’ Ranking a close second is ability to communicate, a trait Neff's clients also increasingly want. How many people with those qualities are you likely to find if you just go out looking? The depressing answer -- not many -- is why many companies are getting serious about growing their own leaders.”
• “Most companies aren’t very good at leadership development.”
• “Companies increasingly realize their pipeline is broken: In that survey from Right (Management Consultants), 77 percent of companies say they don't have enough successors to their current senior managers. Yet they have a miserable time doing much about it.”
• “Sponsorship from the top is key. Not many bosses will match the 70 percent of his time that Jack Welch says he put into development when he was running GE… When a company says it's getting serious about management development, I say great -- just let me see the CEO's calendar"
• “The No. 1 skill companies seek in managers is ‘ability to motivate and engage others.’ Ranking a close second is ability to communicate, a trait Neff's clients also increasingly want. How many people with those qualities are you likely to find if you just go out looking? The depressing answer -- not many -- is why many companies are getting serious about growing their own leaders.”
• “Most companies aren’t very good at leadership development.”
• “Companies increasingly realize their pipeline is broken: In that survey from Right (Management Consultants), 77 percent of companies say they don't have enough successors to their current senior managers. Yet they have a miserable time doing much about it.”
• “Sponsorship from the top is key. Not many bosses will match the 70 percent of his time that Jack Welch says he put into development when he was running GE… When a company says it's getting serious about management development, I say great -- just let me see the CEO's calendar"
Great Leadership Quotes
“Management is about human beings. Its task is to make people capable of joint performance, to make their strengths effective and their weaknesses irrelevant.” - Peter Drucker
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States
Leadership - Best Companies to Work For - No Secrets
From a leadership point of view, what makes a company great to worl for? AFortune magazine reporter goes undercover at “Best Companies To Work For” and makes a fascinating discovery: their success secrets are things you can do, too.
For his article in Fortune magazine, Daniel Roth took jobs at four of the leading firms ranked on Fortune’s annual “Best Companies to Work For” list, just to personally experience what makes these companies so special. What Roth learned may provide some interesting lessons for you and your company. Here are some excerpts from this article and from firms where Roth worked:
“Most of the things that make a workplace great turn out to cost employers absolutely nothing. Next, a great workplace benefits more than just employees: Over the past five years the stocks of the four companies I worked at trounced the market, up a compounded 24% vs. the S&P's 1% gain.”
“Most of the things that make a workplace great turn out to cost employers absolutely nothing. Next, a great workplace benefits more than just employees: Over the past five years the stocks of the four companies I worked at trounced the market, up a compounded 24% vs. the S&P's 1% gain.”
Four Seasons Hotel. “The Four Seasons wants its staff to be relaxed, regular people, so they're given leeway to do what they think is right…I'm out working the door with Endale Tessema. Tessema, 48, has been with the hotel for 23 years, yet he's still the rookie of the four-person doorman staff. He says he can recognize by name thousands of people who have stayed at the hotel over his decades. He does pretty much as he pleases--no canned speeches, no formal way of opening the door or lugging the luggage. He just makes it up as he goes, and he says the people in charge learn from him. ‘The managers, instead of coming in and imposing things on me, they come in and learn how things work,’ he says. ‘If they want to change it, they'll change it later. They have to learn first.’"
FedEx. “For all FedEx's clock-watching and efficiency, the company is remarkably hands-off…A $1,000 investment in FedEx when it went public in 1978 would now be worth $106,000. And while a ballooning 401(k) is one powerful tool for retaining employees, what keeps Cava happy is the fact that he's expected to decide what's right with his day.”
Hot Topic. Hot Topic is a, “chain of over 650 mall stores that sell rock- and pop-culture clothes, music, and jewelry to teens, preteens, and the moms who control the credit cards.” The company will total $720 million in sales this year…”Hot Topic makes its employees the first responders of cool--a task that suddenly gives some real importance to what could be a tedious job. Employees are expected to call buyers with tips, access that is almost unheard of in retail. That makes the salespeople feel as though they're not just selling products, but picking them. It also gives them a bit of attitude about inventory.”
“The shock of my four (job) stints wasn't that these companies were so extraordinary, but that other companies can't--or just don't--do the simple things that make employees happy. Forget brain surgery; this is barely baking-soda-volcano science. At every stop my fellow workers talked about bosses either leaving them alone or being there for them. They discussed work-life balance, stock options, and sick days.”
Click Here to read this article
Fancy a Little Light Relief? Here are some interesting links:
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/EmbarassingYouTubeVideos
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/MagicWheel
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/InsiderLeadershipTips
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/ToyTigers
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/Business-Strategy
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/Top10BooksonLeadership
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/publish/DesignerShoes2010
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/BestFootballGoals
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/motorracingwipeouts
For his article in Fortune magazine, Daniel Roth took jobs at four of the leading firms ranked on Fortune’s annual “Best Companies to Work For” list, just to personally experience what makes these companies so special. What Roth learned may provide some interesting lessons for you and your company. Here are some excerpts from this article and from firms where Roth worked:
“Most of the things that make a workplace great turn out to cost employers absolutely nothing. Next, a great workplace benefits more than just employees: Over the past five years the stocks of the four companies I worked at trounced the market, up a compounded 24% vs. the S&P's 1% gain.”
“Most of the things that make a workplace great turn out to cost employers absolutely nothing. Next, a great workplace benefits more than just employees: Over the past five years the stocks of the four companies I worked at trounced the market, up a compounded 24% vs. the S&P's 1% gain.”
Four Seasons Hotel. “The Four Seasons wants its staff to be relaxed, regular people, so they're given leeway to do what they think is right…I'm out working the door with Endale Tessema. Tessema, 48, has been with the hotel for 23 years, yet he's still the rookie of the four-person doorman staff. He says he can recognize by name thousands of people who have stayed at the hotel over his decades. He does pretty much as he pleases--no canned speeches, no formal way of opening the door or lugging the luggage. He just makes it up as he goes, and he says the people in charge learn from him. ‘The managers, instead of coming in and imposing things on me, they come in and learn how things work,’ he says. ‘If they want to change it, they'll change it later. They have to learn first.’"
FedEx. “For all FedEx's clock-watching and efficiency, the company is remarkably hands-off…A $1,000 investment in FedEx when it went public in 1978 would now be worth $106,000. And while a ballooning 401(k) is one powerful tool for retaining employees, what keeps Cava happy is the fact that he's expected to decide what's right with his day.”
Hot Topic. Hot Topic is a, “chain of over 650 mall stores that sell rock- and pop-culture clothes, music, and jewelry to teens, preteens, and the moms who control the credit cards.” The company will total $720 million in sales this year…”Hot Topic makes its employees the first responders of cool--a task that suddenly gives some real importance to what could be a tedious job. Employees are expected to call buyers with tips, access that is almost unheard of in retail. That makes the salespeople feel as though they're not just selling products, but picking them. It also gives them a bit of attitude about inventory.”
“The shock of my four (job) stints wasn't that these companies were so extraordinary, but that other companies can't--or just don't--do the simple things that make employees happy. Forget brain surgery; this is barely baking-soda-volcano science. At every stop my fellow workers talked about bosses either leaving them alone or being there for them. They discussed work-life balance, stock options, and sick days.”
Click Here to read this article
Fancy a Little Light Relief? Here are some interesting links:
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/EmbarassingYouTubeVideos
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/MagicWheel
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/InsiderLeadershipTips
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/ToyTigers
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/Business-Strategy
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/Top10BooksonLeadership
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/publish/DesignerShoes2010
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/BestFootballGoals
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/motorracingwipeouts
Leadership - Why Most firms don't align Business Goals with Measurable Results
One of the biggest challeenges in Leadership is to align business goals with measurable results. And eighty eight percent of firms are not able to align business goals with measurable results, says a recent study.
A survey of 800 training and development professionals by The Ken Blanchard Companies found that escalating customer demands, customer relationship skills, team building, and creating management and executive bench strength are the biggest challenges in business today. In addition, 88 percent of respondents in this study reported that their organization is limited or not successful at all at aligning business goals to measurable business results. You can link to an article about this study here:
Click Here to read this article
A survey of 800 training and development professionals by The Ken Blanchard Companies found that escalating customer demands, customer relationship skills, team building, and creating management and executive bench strength are the biggest challenges in business today. In addition, 88 percent of respondents in this study reported that their organization is limited or not successful at all at aligning business goals to measurable business results. You can link to an article about this study here:
Click Here to read this article
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
THE LEADERSHIP BLOG
Todays Link:
Stand Up and Take Your Turn! NOW, Is Your Time To Shine
Stand Up and Take Your Turn! NOW, Is Your Time To Shine
The Leadership Series for Successful Living will undoubtedly change your life for the better. You can begin leading your life, in a real way, where you’ll experience remarkable results in the quality of your relationship; the size of your bank account and the amount of joy, peace and happiness in your daily life.
Light Relief:
Most embarrassing Youtube videos
Magic Wheel videos
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)