Forget the Bus! Develop Talent to Create a Fast, Nimble Fleet
Organizations need people who know what they're doing, where they're going, and have the skills to get there. We call that "talent." Unfortunately, there's a common misbelief that the best way to get talent is to buy it - not build it - by ranking everyone,...
The New Rules of the Social Age
Guest Post by Ted Coiné, Co-author A World Gone Social What used to seem very good leadership practices in the Industrial Age was good, or at least efficient. But the Industrial Age is over. And it’s not coming back. It’s the Social Age now, and it will be for quite...
Social Media Has Redefined Breaking News – For Me Forever
We moved from New England to the San Francisco Bay Area in the end of July. Three weeks later, I was awakened in the middle of the night by the largest earthquake in 25 years. It felt like the house was right next to a train track and a train was going by. The...
How to Identify Team Values that Unify and Guide Your Team
When you agree on your team values, you increase trust and create a language for more effectively working together. Values are deeply held beliefs about what is right and good and evoke standards that you care deeply about. They drive your behaviors and decisions....
Organizational Change Can Start Wherever You Are
Do you wish senior leaders would make some changes in your organization? Instead of waiting and wishing for someone from above to provide leadership, you can make a significant impact no matter what your role is. According to Steven Covey said, "Most people think of...
Make Your Next Meeting as Engaging as a Video Game
Guest Post by Dick Axelrod Are meetings in your organization places where productivity goes to die? If you answered yes, you are not alone. There are 11 million meetings a day in the U.S. alone. Half are ineffective. The problem with most meetings is that meeting...
My Leadership Lessons as Executive Director
Today begins my last week as executive director of the Berrett-Koehler Foundation. This is the second time I’ve done this with an organization—served as executive director during the startup phase—and I’ve learned many lessons along the way. My involvement began two...
Stay Focused on Your Vision
Stay focused on your vision and take the first step.
What I Learned about Vision Casting
Guest Post by Dan Rockwell @LeadershipFreak (Jedi Master of leadership lessons in less than 300 words) I thought vision casting was about me. Jesse Lyn Stoner taught me that vision is about us. I used to craft the vision and spring it on my team. I’d declare, “Here’s...
An Interview with Jake Jacobs on Real Time Strategic Change
I was delighted to catch up with Jake Jacobs, the creator of Real Time Strategic Change (RTSC), the approach that brings hundreds of people together to make collaborative decisions about their organization in real time, which I described in Try Collaborative Change...
Tune In and Turn Off
Technology gives us the opportunity to be “always on” and the illusion of increased productivity. The reality is that it’s not healthy, and over the long run you will be less productive. Even understanding this, it can be hard to resist the pressure to quickly check...
How to REALLY Listen
My friend Jake said, “When someone tells me about a problem, I used to try to help them solve it. But I’ve learned that simply listening can be more helpful than the best advice I might give.” Jake is not alone. Many of us equate listening with problem-solving, and we...