3590 Posts Found

Much sociological research suggests that the desire to avoid embarrassment, to maintain an acceptable public image, might be an even more powerful motive for human behavior than financial incentives. Organizations seeking to galvanize people to action—getting them to embrace new ideas or stimulating the personal initiative that often fuels innovation—should take this research…to heart.

Content: Quotation | Authors: Hayagreeva Rao, Robert I. Sutton | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Change Management, Organizational Behavior

A new form of global organization grounded in “gateway” countries can allow a company to operate profitably around the world.

Content: Article | Authors: C.K. Prahalad, Hrishi Bhattacharyya | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: International, Organizational Behavior

the largest site in the world on all aspects of how we change what others think, believe, feel and do. There are already over 2500 pages here, with much more to come. [Hat Tip to Guy Kawasaki]

Content: Online Resource | Subjects: Management, Marketing / Sales, Organizational Behavior, Personal Development

Fear of making a fool of oneself is a very strong driver of behavior, and it has occurred to me more than once that this is a rare fear among successful men and more common—usually without foundation—among successful women.

Content: Quotation | Author: Sandra Dawson | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Women in Business

We talk a lot today about the importance of mentoring and coaching, and they can be vital in helping novices learn the rules of the game. But it is very important that men should not always be mentored by men and women by women. Mentoring based on interests, not gender, can help to change the culture because it can lead to greater understanding of the … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Sandra Dawson | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Career, Coaching, Women in Business

A number of studies have shown that women who promote their own interests vigorously are seen as aggressive, uncooperative, and selfish. An equal number of studies show that the failure of women to promote their own interests results in a lack of female leaders. Until one of these conditions changes, sponsors, we believe, are the key to helping women gain access to opportunities they merit … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Authors: Joanna Barsh, Rebecca A. Craske, Susie Cranston | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Women in Business

The frames people use to view the world and process experiences can make a critical difference to professional outcomes. Many studies suggest that optimists see life more realistically than pessimists do, a frame of mind that can be crucial to making the right business decisions. …Optimists, research shows, are not afraid to frame the world as it actually is—they are confident that they can manage … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Authors: Joanna Barsh, Rebecca A. Craske, Susie Cranston | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Organizational Behavior, Personality / Behavior

The quick, invisible shift from information overload to information assault has created, almost ironically, at least one, significant deficit: In every organization today, attention is a scarce resource. That scarcity has serious implications for leaders, managers and front-line staff. Reflecting on our own experience may be the best indication of how serious this problem is for any business. Do you know anyone who isn’t becoming … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: John C. Beck, Thomas H. Davenport | Source: Ivey Business Journal | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior, Strategy

Don’t write merely to be understood. Write so that you cannot possibly be misunderstood.

Content: Quotation | Author: Robert Louis Stevenson | Subject: Communication

Continually ask yourself: ‘Why the hell should anyone want to read what I am writing?’ If you can’t give at least three good reasons, stop writing and start thinking. Otherwise, you will be wasting everyone’s time – principally your own.

Content: Quotation | Author: Philip Yaffe | Source: CEO Refresher | Subject: Communication

Every person who works for an organization wants the answer to two questions. First, What is it that you expect of me? Second, How am I doing at meeting your expectations?

Content: Quotation | Author: Dick Grote | Source: The Conference Board Review | Subjects: Human Resources, Management, Organizational Behavior

A committee is a group of men who individually can do nothing, but as a group decide that nothing can be done.

Content: Quotation | Author: Fred Allen | Source: The Conference Board Review | Subjects: Bureaucracy, Decision Making

In a world where trust is more perishable than ever—where one negative experience can color a buyer’s perceptions forever—businesses must figure out how to effectively capitalize on the trust they have built while at the same time protecting their hard-won reputations. They must also learn how to harness the democratization of information—particularly the Web-based input and unfiltered opinions of self-anointed “experts” and dissatisfied customers—to help … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Authors: Karen Crennan, Marcia A. Halfin, Paul F. Nunes | Source: Outlook Journal (Accenture) | Subjects: Reputation, Trust

Companies should not presume to treat all employees—or customers, for that matter—in a single country as having the same culture or national identity, even in developed nations. Many of today’s employees have spent long periods of time in more than one country, creating sustained connections that deeply affect spending and consumption (for example, continued remittances to family in home countries), social ties, gender roles and … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Authors: Karen Crennan, Marcia A. Halfin, Paul F. Nunes | Source: Outlook Journal (Accenture) | Subjects: Culture, International

The originator of multiple intelligence theory prescribes a code of ethics for business.

Content: Article | Authors: Howard E. Gardner, Lawrence M. Fisher | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Ethics, People

When companies evaluate strategic decisions, three conditions frequently create agency problems. One is the misalignment of time horizons between individuals and corporations. …Another problem that can generate harmful deceptions is the differing risk profiles of individuals and organizations. …The final agency issue arises from the likelihood that a subordinate knows much more than a superior does about a given issue. Higher-ranking executives must therefore make … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Authors: Dan P. Lovallo, Olivier Sibony | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Organizational Behavior

If we…create pictures [by] breaking down any problem and its corresponding picture into distinct “who,” “what,” “how much,” “where,” and “when” elements, we can convey the “how” and “why” to anyone in a way they will understand.

Content: Quotation | Author: Dan Roam | Source: Sun Microsystems | Subjects: Communication, Creativity

This article identifies the Trybaby Syndrome as a performance challenge and introduces a “Performance Influence-Importance Matrix” to help managers identify the differences between so-called Trybabies, Spinners, Pass-Timers, and Corperformers. Two real-world examples of trybabies, followed by five countermeasures, are offered to help guide managers, coaches, and employees in handling the performance challenge referred to as the Trybaby Syndrome.

Content: Article | Author: Charles D. Kerns, Ph.D. | Source: Graziadio Business Report | Subjects: Human Resources, Management, Organizational Behavior

Leaders have to achieve psychological independence to enable them to apply their talents to the work at hand. This independence frees the leader to expand on his or her talents and thereby become an object to allow subordinates to identify with and to cultivate and apply their own talents in the interests of meeting and even expanding on objectives.

Content: Quotation | Author: Abraham Zaleznik | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Leadership, Personality / Behavior

Venkat Rao talks about why existing models of talent management have been undermined to the point that they are completely unworkable today. Besides X and Y, there are no less than nine schools of thought that he’s been able to find. These theories drive actions in all aspects of talent management – acquisition, retention, turnover-management and development, and apply to managing people down, up or … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Venkatesh Rao | Source: ribbonfarm | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior