Blogs / Tags / Training and Development

I’ve long been an avid collector of “famous last words.” These are pronouncements by experts confidently projecting today’s current limitations into tomorrow. These serve as stark reminders to be very careful about getti... More...

Catching up on my reading I recently came across a pair of Fortune articles on the vital importance of storytelling for leaders. Management often relies on directing, telling, and bossing – even if politely saying “please.” Leadersh... More...

We can gain such great perspective and leadership lessons from looking back at how previous generations handled the sweeping changes and crises of their day. I’ve been in London, England three times in the last few months working with an int... More...

February was named after the Latin term februum meaning purification. In the old Roman calendar the purification ritual, Februa, was held on February 15. Some historians also connect the Latin word for fever, febris, with purification or purging fr... More...

Has your executive or management team fallen into a few of the traps identified in my last blog post? If so, you’re in good company. Those common team traps are highly interconnected. Getting out of them takes a fair bit of work and approaches uni... More...

In the last few months I’ve been working with three executive teams to help strengthen team effectiveness and boost their leadership of major culture change and development efforts. One team heads up a large commercial construction company in Western... More...

A reader responded to my December “Tips and Techniques for Reviewing, Assessing, Celebrating, and Refocusing” blog with this comment: “Hi Jim, Just like to echo your thoughts on staying focused on successes. For many it has been... More...

Change is happening way too fast to predict and plan for an uncertain and unknown future. Building a quickly responsive and highly adaptive team and organizational culture is more critical than ever. The core of a built-to-change culture is an energi... More...

My last post brought a few insights and research on dealing with uncertainty. The post before that was built around Dan Gardner’s excellent new book, Future Babble. It drew parallels with one of his key themes (expert hedgehogs and foxes) by discussi... More...

My last few blog posts dealt with our predictable New Year’s “Silly Season” filled with useless forecasts and predictions. This multi-billion dollar industry is built around our deep insecurity about dealing with uncertainty. But life doe... More...

In Dan Gardner’s fascinating new book, Future Babble: Why Expert Predictions Fail – and Why We Believe Them Anyway, he cites the research of Professor Philip Tetlock, in dividing the expert forecasters he studied into hedgehogs and foxes. This ... More...

Once again we face a fresh New Year with countless possibilities stretching out far beyond the horizon. Will this year be filled with triumphs or tragedies? What changes lay ahead? Is the uncertainty daunting or exciting? Are we creating a new earth ... More...

If the "experts" weren’t so serious — and often dire — with their predictions for 2011 and beyond, this could be a highly amusing time of year. Amongst all the holiday festivities we could be entertained — even l... More...

While you’re recovering from all the feasting – or looking for some time to yourself – here’s a chance to review the most popular of last year’s 100+ blog posts. The links below will take you directly to the post. Many of the bl... More...

In the spirit making this a greener Holiday season I am recycling a blog from last year! It’s that exciting week before Christmas when kids cram for their big performance review. Where will the big guy watching from the North Pole mark them... More...

This is a wonderful time of year. The bright lights, cheery music, parties, festive atmosphere, good wishes, and great food add to the fun of the Holidays. It’s a wonderful time for warming our hearts with the love of family and rekindling o... More...

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” - Confucius, ancient Chinese thinker and social philosopher “... More...

As you look back over the past year and forward to 2011, schedule time to get your team re-energized and re-focused when you get back to work in January. Here are a few ways to do it: Summarize Your 2010 Accomplishments – this can be done as an “An... More...

My last blog post looked at using the Holiday Season as a reminder of the importance of reviewing, assessing, celebrating, and refocusing – both at home and at work. Besides energizing us, it’s critical to our ongoing learning and development. In off... More...

As we scurry madly into the Holiday Season, the year-end retrospectives are beginning. It’s time to look back on what was and ahead to what can be. This is also what highly effective – and disciplined – management teams do so much more regularly that... More...

The New York Times recently published an in-depth look at the zany – and wildly successful – culture that propelled Southwest Airlines to become the largest U.S. domestic carrier over the past 40 years. Entitled “Pushing 40, Southwest is Still Playin... More...

The payoff of all that frenzied flurry of preparations for the Holiday Season can be time for reflection and looking back over the past year. As we look ahead, resolutions to change some of our habits are often a good way to kick off the New Year. B... More...

My last post reported on fascinating research from the world of honey bees providing profound and practical insights on building highly effective teams. Team effectiveness depends heavily on the team leadership skills of the person heading up the tea... More...

Management is about facts, analysis, and issues of the head. Leadership is about intuition, values, and issues of the heart. Logic is the language of management. Imagery is the language of leadership. Imagery is fuelled by metaphors, parables, analog... More...

The continued increase in registrations for my blog posting notifications and the steady growth in complimentary subscriptions to The Leader Letter (a monthly compilation of my biweekly blogs) leads me to believe that many readers feel they are getti... More...

Tags

News

Snappy Video Shows How We Limit Our Possibilities

Persuasion and Influence: Storytelling Skills are Essential

The OP Riots: Now There’s the Voice of the Customer!

Februum: Reviewing and Purifying Your Leadership

Executive Team Traps: Tips, Techniques, and Resources to Pick Yourself Up

Executive Team Traps: Have You Fallen and Can’t Get Up?

Focusing on What We Want to Create and Emotional Intelligence Resources

How to Energize Vision, Values, and Purpose/Mission

Focus and Context are the Core of Built-to-Change Cultures

Thoughts That Make You Go Hmmmm on… Leading Through Uncertainty

Are You a Management Hedgehog or a Leadership Fox?

Book Review of Future Babble: Why Expert Predictions Fail – and Why We Believe Them Anyway

New Year’s Prediction Alert: It’s Silly Season Again!

Top 10 Blog Posts for 2010

Leadership Lessons from Santa

Have a Purposeful Holiday for a Wonderful Life

Thoughts That Make You Go Hmmm…on Reflective Learning

Tips and Techniques for Reviewing, Assessing, Celebrating, and Refocusing

The Seven Sins of Learning Impaired Management Teams

Tis the Season to Review, Assess, Celebrate, and Refocus

Learning from Southwest Airlines: Nurturing a Culture of Volunteerism

Tis the Season to Review and Reform our Habits

Thoughts that Make You Go Hmmm on ….. Team Building

Team Building Lessons from the Wisdom of the Hive

Conference Board Webinar: Leadership and Culture Development for Peak Performance

	Good Guy = Bad Manager :: Bad Guy = Good Manager. Is it a Myth?

	Base Pay Increases Remain Steady in 2007, Mercer Survey Finds

	Online Overload: The Perfect Candidates Are Out There - If You Can Find Them

	Cartus Global Survey Shows Trend to Shorter-Term International Relocation Assignments

	Rewards, Vacation and Perks Are Passé; Canadians Care Most About Cash