"There's nothing new under the sun." You might have heard that aphorism before. I think about it every time I see another new leadership book that promises to uncover the true secrets of organizational success. At fifty years old, you won't find anything new in The Human Side of Enterprise. You will find some solid thinking about some of the timeless principles that guide organizational success. Way before getting an MBA was trendy, Douglas McGregor was approaching business as a science. Big Thought "All managerial decisions and actions rest on assumptions about behavior." If you assume that people are lazy and unmotivated, you will … [Read more...]
What’s Your Story – Craig Wortmann
Every once in a while you meet someone and you think "Why haven't we met earlier!?" Craig and I were actually introduced by a mutual friend and we share a similar outlook on how to be successful in business. And he knows his stuff - he's a professor at the University of Chicago (while not quite at the level of my alma mater Northwestern, it's still a pretty good school...). In fact, I knew that I would like his book right away because he used the term Luddite in the opening chapter of What's Your Story?. I thought I was the only person geeky enough to put that in a business book. Big Thought Stories are a powerful leadership tool that … [Read more...]
Internal Relationships Create a Well-Oiled Machine
It's common to talk about business with metaphors, and one of the most common compares a high-functioning business to a "well-oiled machine." It highlights the idea of different parts and pieces fitting together to create a moving whole that does something - more often than not, moving forward. Unfortunately, in their quest to build that well-oiled machine, most leaders ignore the most important piece of the puzzle. Let's get very specific about our well-oiled machine. Let's say it's a sports car, maybe a Ferrari. It has a top-of-the-line engine, race-quality tires, and steering and controls that respond to the lightest touch. Taken … [Read more...]
How to Fix the 3 Delegation Leaks That are Costing You
Ask any plumber and they'll tell you: leaky pipes are bad news. They lead to decreased intensity, wasted resources, and slower delivery. And there's a good chance that if you are leading a team, there are a lot of leaks in your delegation "pipes". In my work with small business owners and entrepreneurs, I've found that one of their biggest hurdles comes when they have to start delegating tasks to their team. They've moved past the point where they can do all of the work themselves, and they need to spread activities around. Leaky Delegation Creates More Work But often, instead of taking responsibilities off of the leader's shoulders, … [Read more...]