It might be taking things too far to say that what’s happening in the US is the same as what’s happening internationally. In the recent uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain, Syria, and Jordan, people came together to demand freedom of voice, leadership they could believe in, and meaningful work. They wanted [...]
Archive | Culture & Leadership
Collaboration — the ability to co-labor — towards a shared goal is a purposeful way of engaging many people and their ideas to achieve a shared vision.
Is Success Predictable?
So many teams fail in growth. They blame their strategy, or their tactics, or the market, or bring up some issue about product/market/timing fit was off, or that some people failed at execution and so on. The list of reasons is almost endless for any team. As often as this happens, don’t you wonder if [...]
Not Checks, but Purpose
This video montage was made from a series of questions/answers on collaboration and management. It contains some vignettes and ideas that matter. Filmed during The Art of Management Conference (where Simon Sinek, Michael Eisner, Mitch Joel and Malcolm Gladwell and I were the 5 speakers), in November 2010, Toronto. +++ When I ask you to [...]
Humanize Thru Trust
“Do you trust him/her?” The answer to that question determines a lot – whether you follow a leader, and whether others follow you. Given the centrality of this tenant to, well, everything…the question is how exactly do you build trust? I’ve been thinking about this question a lot over the years and there is one [...]
Speed Over Greed
Anyone who wonders why we don’t have more start-ups hasn’t noticed that it is the hardest job in the world. You start from nothing. One team I was working with in the spring of this year just oozed joy when they had earned their first $49 from someone they didn’t know. Getting to this point…building [...]
Silence Hurts
This essay originally appeared in the collection End Malaria, proceeds from which go to Malaria No More. End Malaria is full of short yet meaningful posts by 61 amazing writers/thinkers. For more information or to buy the book (or 10), go to EndMalariaDay.com. [Really, do it.] HBR was also kind enough to break their rules [...]
Collaborate To Save Lives
Collaboration is often used in feel-good ways rather than value-add ways. Having done a book with a theme on creating more collaboration at work, I realize now how many people use the word as a paper-over word. Meaning, when “I want them to follow me, I ask them to collaborate”. They go into it unwilling [...]
Quotas / Women / Boards
One might wonder why I would choose to write about an issue of women and board seats just after taking on a new role as a corporate director of a public company. So before you read this post I’ve just done over at Harvard (below), I want to take a minute to share my context. [...]
Calling: The Fighter
There’s been enough research to show that buy-in happens when people shape the decision. There’s been enough clarity on knowing the “why” causes people to align behind decisions. There’s been enough qualitative and quantitative work to show the value of collective networks in accomplishing real change. If you followed the 3 links, you know that [...]
The Excuses
When I was getting divorced from my first husband, I spent many months reliving the past. These mental hamster-wheel moments were accompanied by sleepless nights, too much scotch, and – to complete this picture in all it’s transparency—family-size bags of Lays BBQ potato chips. During these long nights, I would try and re-imagine each crucial [...]