The Few, the Proud, the In Crowd
It’s likely your org chart doesn’t tell you where the real power lies in your company. A small number of people make the big decisions. Are you in with the in crowd?
Content: Article | Author: Art Kleiner | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Organizational Behavior
Core Group Therapy
“I have come to think that there are basically three universal factors that influence corporate culture. I have never seen an organization operate without them, but their characteristics vary dramatically from place to place. If you understand all three in a particular organization, you truly understand how to reinforce what the organization is doing right, or change its direction.”
Editor’s Note: you may want to … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Author: Art Kleiner | Source: strategy+business | Subject: Organizational Behavior
Jack Stack’s Story is an Open Book
A small Ozarks manufacturer has a message for big companies: Open-book management can increase productivity and release entrepreneurial spirit.
Content: Article | Author: Art Kleiner | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Management, People
Should a Company Have a Noble Purpose?
If you’re a senior executive or a strategic planner, then articulating a noble purpose may seem like a powerful way to energize the people in your organization to break away from your pack of competitors. And it may seem like a way to attract a more committed, more passionate, and more capable group of employees-people, like teachers, actors, artists, and nurses, who dedicate themselves to … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Authors: Art Kleiner, George Roth, Nina Kruschwitz | Source: Across the Board (ATB) | Subjects: Leadership, Social Responsibility (ESG)
Climbing to Greatness with Jim Collins
The management scholar put 1,435 good companies through a rigorous performance analysis and discovered only 11 became great. Here’s why.
Content: Article | Author: Art Kleiner | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Management, People
Karen Stephenson’s Quantum Theory of Trust
Companies can analyze, engineer, and elevate their own human networks, says the pioneering social scientist.
Editor’s Note: This article discusses the concept of network analysis, a useful but as-yet underutilized management tool (one that doesn’t even appear on Bain’s management tools survey).
Content: Article | Author: Art Kleiner | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior
What Are the Measures That Matter?
This article examines the feud between two management gurus – Bob Kaplan and Tom Johnson. Together, the two developed and introduced the world to Activity Based Accounting and later the Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan). While Kaplan still is preaching these concepts, Johnson has gone on to argue that the troubles that mainstream companies get into are due to the misuse of measurement. Thus, their … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Author: Art Kleiner | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Management, People
The Cult of Three Cultures
The sum of operational, executive, and engineering cultures is greater than the corporate whole.
Editor’s Note: offers an interesting summary look at the theories of MIT OD professor Edgar Schein (three cultures) and sociologist Neil Fligstein (evolving historical corporate cultures that match the external environment)
Content: Article | Author: Art Kleiner | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Organizational Behavior, People
Strike Up the Brand
Tom Peters galvanized a free-agent nation with his manifesto, “The Brand Called You.” But there is something missing from his vision: us.
Content: Article | Author: Art Kleiner | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Career, Trends / Analysis
The Tyranny of “Community”
By imposing togetherness and teamwork across divisional boundaries, companies risk losing the people whose tacit knowledge actually drives growth.
Content: Article | Author: Art Kleiner | Source: strategy+business | Subject: Organizational Behavior
Elliott Jaques Levels With You
The controversial Canadian theorist claims he can create the perfect organization. Has he found the key to management – or merely a justification for bureaucracy?
Editor’s Note: this article introduces Jaques’ Requisite Organization concepts which are very controversial but also very thought-provoking and worthy of consideration on various levels. I was particularly struck by how relevant some of his ideas are in light of recent … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Author: Art Kleiner | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Organizational Behavior, People
Corporate Culture in Internet Time
The foundation of the company is no longer the company: It’s the team.
Editor’s Note: I found the discussion of two cultures in startups – hype and craft – to be especially interesting, and accurate from my personal experiences.
Content: Article | Author: Art Kleiner | Source: strategy+business | Subject: Organizational Behavior