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Les Worrall | 23 Dec 2009
Business school illusionsIn the 1990s, "managers' capitalism" replaced "owners' capitalism" as executive power and pay spiralled out of control. And as academics pandered to the demands of businesses and universities milked the MBA cash cow, academic rigour, critical thinking and intellectual diversity were all sacrificed to mammon.
David Livermore
Cultural intelligence: nice ideal or a key to survival?In a shrinking world, cultural intelligence (or CQ) is more than just a nice-to-have. The capability to function effectively across national, ethnic, and organizational cultures has a direct correlation to the bottom line and to a company's sustainability in the flat world of globalized business.
Mitch McCrimmon
Beyond folk leadershipWhy do we hang onto primitive ideas about leadership like the notion that being a leader means being in charge of a group? That might work for a street gang, but a modern business is a network rather than a tightly-knit unit and no-one is really in charge. 
Michael Yaziji
Winning through the winds of climate changeLike it or not, climate change will be transformative for many industries and will affect nearly all businesses. But as with any trend, those who see it, get ahead of it and shape it will be the winners.
Mitch McCrimmon
Leadership for the creative classHow do so-called creative class employees - innovative knowledge workers who often have little interest in managing people – show leadership? The answer is that they promote a better way for others – something which goes against the conventional view of leadership as 'a role'. 
Peter Taylor
The power of productive lazinessSmart lazy people have a real edge over others. But productive laziness is not just about being lazy and avoiding unnecessary work. It requires something more - a powerful and magical combination of laziness and intelligence that leads them to find the easiest way to achieve what is required.
John Wells
Responsible leadershipThere's more to responsible leadership than demanding more corporate social responsibility. As John Wells, President of business school, IMD, explains, it is a balance of between getting the right results and getting results the right way. Suzanne Lowe & David Kipp
The new face of professional servicesMarketing and business development is changing in professional service firms, a process that the recession has accelerated. So what does this mean for all those accounting, law and consulting firms out there: how do they respond to the new environment? Jean-François Manzoni
Dealing with negative energySince the recession began, many organizations have had to cut costs, lose staff and demand more from their remaining employees. But this can lead to negative energy and a loss of goodwill. So how do you keep your employees on board for the road to recovery? Andy Atkins
Trust and collaboration: a virtuous circleTrust is an essential requirement of effective leaders. Without trust, leaders have no followers. And if they want to build trust, leaders need to understand that trust as driven more by aligned commitment and shared responsibility than by an assessment of individual capabilities. Mitch McCrimmon
Four levels of employee engagementThe reason employees become disengaged is because management takes the lion's share of ownership. So if you want to build real employee engagement, relinquish your monopoly on leadership, change the way you view employees and push ownership down throughout the organization. Dan Kaplan
Preparing for the upturnOrganizations that have sat out the recession with the attitude that their best people have no choice but to stay because of the scarcity of other opportunities are going to be in for a rude shock when the upturn finally arrives. Cindy Wahler
Do you think you can lead?For many leaders, business culture is "all about me" and finishing first. Yet this mindset risks ignoring one of the most important requirements for effective leadership, namely influencing skills. And the art of influencing starts with empathy: not "what's in it for me", but "what's in it for you". Bettina Büchel
The power of the peopleTwenty years ago, it was people power that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. People also have the power to shape organizations, lead transformation and create the demand for products and services. So to remain competitive, companies need to harness this power. John Roulet
Abolishing the myths of leadershipWe need great leadership now more than ever. But we're not getting it - because we seem to have forgotten what leadership really is. Leadership is about work, not personality. It's not about being visionary and it's not about managing people. Business leaders simply need to manage performance Bob Nelson
Keeping up in a down economyThe real toll of the recession is its impact on everyday people. Smart managers know that creating a climate of fear isn't going to help. Instead, they need to focus on the right things that together create a more motivating work environment for their employees. Marcia Xenitelis
Employee engagement in tough timesHow do you inspire confidence and innovation in an organization whose employees are worried sick about their jobs? The answer isn't that complicated – and it doesn't involve employee engagement surveys. Karsten Jonsen & Willem Smit
To network or not?Companies are increasingly blocking employees from accessing Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the like citing concerns over security and productivity. But in building eWalls to keep out danger, organizations may also be keeping out knowledge. Anne Miller
How to get your ideas adoptedIt is incredibly frustrating to have an idea for how to improve a business only to see it get rejected out of hand. But resistance to new ideas is normal. To get your ideas accepted, you need to understand the four stage of resistance and how to deal with each of them. Marcia Xenitelis
Why managers aren't the best communicators during times of changeIn tough economic times, organizations tend to rely on their managers to communicate face-to-face with their teams about what's going on. But this approach doesn't work, because it usually ends up being about managing fear, not change. Jack Buffington
Learning from the pastIn the second part of his article on the broken state of management, MillerCoors director and author of The Death of Management, Jack Buffington, explains how companies can learn from the past to adapt to the new normal. Ruth Spellman
The role of the environment in the new normalMaking green management 'business as usual' is a key challenge facing every manager today. But managers need the support of those at the top of organisations because unless the support is top-down, initiatives are unlikely to succeed. John Blackwell
Shredding the workplace rule bookThe unique combination of factors arising from the current economic upheaval means that the rulebook for our workplaces is not merely being overturned, it's being completely shredded. The new normal is here and a range of factors is driving it. Jack Buffington
It is time for some new old managementManagement is broken, argues MillerCoors director and author of "The Death of Management", Jack Buffington. Only by returning to foundation principles can it be fixed. Here he explains what has gone wrong. Part two will deal with putting it right. Joe Barnhart
The benefits of pamper powerDespite what bankers continue to claim, money buys neither happiness nor loyal employees. So throwing good money after bad isn't a long-term solution for employees suffering from occasional feelings of low job satisfaction. There are lots of tools in the box – tools like pamper power. Graham Dietz
The psychological contract during the downturnWhile many companies concentrate on physical employment contracts during a downturn, the psychological contract often gets overlooked. Dr Graham Dietz of Durham Business School warns against this and offers advice on ensuring your company's contract remains in good health. James Kerr
Strategic visioningIf an organization really wants to attract and retain the best and brightest, a good place to start is by painting a vision. I don't mean some tired mission statement, I mean something with depth, something so compelling that the average working professional wants to be part of it. Marcia Xenitelis
Change management and employee communication strategiesWhen it comes to organizational change, it isn't enough simply to present information to employees and hope this will be enough to win them over. If you really want people engaged and on your side, you need to involve them fully in the process. James Kerr
Flipping the organizationIt is time to adopt an completley upside-down view of how organizations work. That means focusing resources on the front-line staff who deliver products and services to the customer, not on executives who primarily manage the spin among the investment community. Andrew Pettigrew
How business can regain legitimacyThis recession has felt so bloody partly because our leaders have had to dismantle a business model focused on growth and adjust to a world of greater responsibility and state intervention. But without a new culture of transparency, business will struggle to regain its legitimacy. James Kerr
Finding and cultivating finishersFinisher is a term used in American football circles to describe a player who never lets up until that last whistle blows. Sports teams need finishers to successfully compete. Businesses need finishers, too. But how do you find and cultivate them? John Blackwell
Time for entrepreneurs to step to the foreDuring difficult economic times, uncertainty presents a wealth of opportunities to be exploited by entrepreneurs. But without government support and a willing to consider genuine help for start-ups, much of this potential will go to waste. Rob Yeung
Office politics revisitedThe mere mention of the term "office politics" instantly makes many people angry. But there's another way of looking at it. Don't think "politicking". Instead, think of the process of building relationships and influencing people as "lobbying". Stephen Archer
Recession regression and pessimism pornIt's no longer the lack of credit that is keeping business owners awake at night and stifling the economy. What's really paralysing investment and scaring consumers is a rubber-necking obsession with bad news and obsessive pessimism.
Dan Collins
Trust pays dividendsIf there's one lesson that we need to learn from the current recession, it is that in the long run, trust pays dividends. That means businesses choosing to operate with integrity - not just as a marketing tactic, but as a value that attracts and retains the best people. Cindy Wahler
Lessons your mother didn't teach youThe lessons we learned in childhood shaped who we are and created the values that guide us through life. But they may limit our success if followed too closely. Real world experience has other lesson to offer, many of which fly in the face of traditional parental guidance. John Blackwell
20th Century managers inhibit 21st Century workThe current economic turmoil will have far-reaching impacts – not the least of which will be irrevocable and fundamental changes to our workforces and the way we work. And that in turn demands a fundamentally different type of management. |
John Blackwell
Trust-based workplaces
Pauline Crawford
A new blueprint for business
Gareth Chick
Redundancy: the cycle of grief
Cindy Wahler
How to turn on Generation Y
James Fleck
The decline of Anglo-American management
Michael Travis
Can big company executives suceed in a start-up?
Roberta Matuson
Guard your hive
Stephen Seymour
The importance of succession planning
Andy Puddicombe
Meditation in the workplace
Graham Jones
Stress survival strategies
Marcia Xenitelis
Five ways leaders can communicate change
John Blackwell
Taming the digital beast
Michelle Brailsford
Rules of the game for corporate women
John Blackwell
Are corporate leaders losing the plot?
Adrian Ott
Getting the most from strategic alliances
Robert Beyster
Unlocking the power of ownership
Marcia Xenitelis
Measuring employee communication
David Tinker
Turn off and switch on
Nikos Bozionelos
The cost of employee under-performance
David Tinker
The ins and outs of corporate control
David Thompson
Are you getting ahead or just getting paid?
Wendy Brooks
What can Brown learn from Rose?
Jamie Jauncey
Romeo and Juliet
Chetan Dhruve
Why fear rules the workplace
Sally Bibb
Trust: the missing ingredient
Julia Middleton
Beyond the tick-box culture
Adrian Slywotzky
Keeping up with your customers
Cam Marston
Retaining youth
Nick McCormick
Lead well and prosper
Gareth Kane
Can working from home save the planet?
Vince Thompson
Talent shortage? How to win with what you've got
Rob Yeung
Creating a personal vision
John Blackwell
So what is a normal job?
Barbara Kay
More than managing during change
ArLyne Diamond
Top strategies for embracing change
ArLyne Diamond
Building trust in distant teams
Robert Galford & Regina Maruca
The introspective leader's advantage
Neil Cassie
What the hell, I'll give it a go
Richard Maun
Avoid your animal tendencies and be a great manager
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