Recently, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, published a letter to shareholders, in which he shared a number of lessons for those seeking to achieve organizational excellence. One piece of advice contained in the letter can best be distilled into three impactful words: “Disagree and commit.” Here’s what Jeff Bezos had to say about these… Continue Reading Disagree and Commit
During the past couple of weeks, I found myself, for a second time, working my way through Thomas L. Friedman’s Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations. Friedman, also author of The World is Flat, uses his latest book to analyze the dizzying pace of change and… Continue Reading Mother Nature's Killer Apps
How do you respond when you’re dissatisfied? Organizations today increasingly sponsor annual surveys to measure the level of employee engagement and satisfaction/dissatisfaction to better understand opportunities for improving culture and communication. Back in 1970, Albert Hirschman wrote a book called Exit, Voice and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations and States. Many employee engagement… Continue Reading You, Dissatisfied
You probably remember learning to ride your first bicycle when you were just a little kid. There were undoubtedly some fearful moments, and even some minor crashes, as you worked to balance yourself on two wheels. Before long, you mastered the art of bicycling and you never had to look back again. The adults around… Continue Reading It's Just Like Riding a Bicycle
In today’s VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous), predicting the future can be difficult, if not impossible. Despite this complexity, many leaders prefer staying in familiar territory, assuming they already know what will work best. In fact, many of us choose the path that is most comfortable or confirming. Rather than bringing genuine curiosity… Continue Reading Simple Habits for Complex Times
Let’s start with a POP QUIZ: What’s 2,446,708 X 11,567 X 6.72 X 0? Pretty simple, huh? I bet you even came up with the correct answer without using a calculator. How about another mental challenge? This one comes from one of my favorite blogs (Farnam Street): Suppose you were trying to become the best… Continue Reading The Weakest Link