Nathan Zeldes – Thinker, Speaker, Problem Solver
Posts Tagged 'Management'
Rosh Gadol: How You Can Manage for Initiative and Get Away With It
What on earth is Rosh Gadol? These are terms that every Israeli knows, and like much Israeli slang they come from the army: Rosh Gadol (literally, a large head) – a person who sees the bigger picture, takes initiative, and goes beyond the immediate task at hand or the orders given to ensure that the end goal is achieved. Rosh katan (a small head) – one who obeys instructions literally and avoids any initiative beyond their exact wording, often to the detriment of the intended mission. In Israel Rosh Katan is usually used pejoratively; in a culture known for its.. Read more
How You Should Listen to Your Employees
Every respectable large company does Organizational Sensing. This is usually driven by the HR group, as a structured, formal process. It might include annual Organizational health surveys, Sensing interviews with a sample of employees, Focus groups, and so on. All of which is useful; it can spot major problem areas, and yields interesting data that can be used at many levels, from raising management awareness to defining solution interventions. All of which does not exempt you, if you are a manager at any level, from doing your own sensing, and doing it right – by listening to your employees. How.. Read more
How Information Overload and Hyperactivity Destroy Leadership
Guest Post by Ian Price The recent temporary departure of Antonio Horta-Osorio from his role at Lloyds Banking Group was unusual in the candid use of the ‘S’-word – “stress” – in the bank’s announcement. For any number of reasons, leaders, their boards and investors are keen to avoid the word as part of the narrative in a leader’s exit. However, there have, in the last year or so, been a number of sudden, unplanned chief executive resignations that the press has attributed – at least in part – to stress. These include Masataka Shimizu of Tokyo Electric Power, Jeff.. Read more
The CIO Role and Driving Innovation: Gap or Opportunity?
Ask yourself: is the CIO a driver of Innovation in your enterprise? The gap: are CIOs missing the Social Media boat? The MIT Sloan Management Review recently published results from a survey of business executives, managers and analysts from organizations around the world, aiming to understand how companies apply Social Media. I was intrigued by the following excerpt: 48% – Percentage of CEOs who believe social media is important or somewhat important to their business today. 24% – Percentage of CIOs who believe the same thing. Now, in general it’s a good thing that CEOs have more vision; standing on.. Read more
A Timeless Management Lesson for Innovative Technology Startups
I want to share with you part of a letter written to a technological innovator who wanted to bring his invention to market: Firstly: I want to know whether if I continue to work on and about your own great subject, you will undertake to abide wholly by the judgment of myself … on all practical matters relating to whatever can involve relations with any … fellow-creatures? Secondly: can you undertake to give your mind wholly and undividedly … to the consideration of all those matters in which I shall at times require your intellectual assistance and supervision; and can.. Read more
Why Business Travel Freezes are Bad for Your Business
A familiar knee-jerk reaction We’ve all been there. The economy goes into the down side of one of its never-ending spasmodic cycles and the word comes down: Freeze all business travel! The urge to batten the hatches when times get rough is understandable and necessary; that’s how responsibly-managed companies survive the hard times. It’s just that a sweeping ban on business travel makes no sense at all in the context of survival, because such travel has an important role in securing the future of the very company you’re trying to help. It never ceases to amaze me how the significance.. Read more
