As a long-time sports fan, I am taken by the number of head football coaches who are shown the door at the end of the season. There are many reasons for this; the most obvious being too many losses as is the case with my team this year (and the year before that,...
A recent Wall Street Journal article captures an emerging trend concerning a key management challenge: people. Executives are reviewing their strategies regarding team size, deployment, and overall employee contributions to the organization. Companies like Walmart,...
It seems to emerge as a common theme. A business hits a rough patch when nothing they try seems to work. Then, when all the innovating and experimentation is exhausted, a move back to basics ensues. So it is for coffee giant, Starbucks. According to a recent...
It’s been said that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” While I won’t argue against the importance of a high-performance culture, the fact is that organizations need both. Let’s take them one at a time, starting with culture. A recent Harvard Business Review...
The most recent issue of the Harvard Business Review features a cover story on the issue of conflict in organizations and the leader’s role in managing these inevitable disruptions. Timely to be sure. Of all the patterns I’ve seen in my work with organizational...
I read an interesting article recently about a pro sports team in the northeast. Seems they traded away their most talented (and most expensive) player. In return, they received what could generously be called “prospects”; that is, largely unproven...