The Practical Art of Persuasion

Persuasion is a catalyst for getting work done, for achieving an outcome you can’t realize on your own. MBA courses, leadership books, and executive education classes recognize the importance of persuasion, but they rarely teach it as a practical art and, if they do, the focus is usually on formal presentations and PowerPoint.

Managers need more fundamental advice on how to persuade. William Ellet teaches a … [ Read more ]

Project “SPAR” – Can You SPAR?

According to research, renewal capabilities consist of “Swiftness”, the speed of creating alignments; “Proactivity”, the ability to proactively engage in generating alternative decisions; “Adaptability”, the ability to adjust structures, routines and processes to respond to changes and “Resilience”, the ability to minimise stress and recover from unexpected events. Since the purpose of this project is to develop and enhance renewal capabilities, I will name … [ Read more ]

The Best Ways to Discuss Ethics

Companies can take a wide variety of approaches to how to discuss ethics but what actually works in guiding employees’ ethical behavior. While working with different organizations over the last six year, Francesca Gino has observed approaches across the entire spectrum. Her research suggests that subtle changes can produce big differences in the ethical conduct of organizational members. Three findings seem particularly relevant, and they … [ Read more ]

The Gender Pay Gap is a Complete Myth

According to all the media headlines about a new White House report, there’s still a big pay gap between men and women in America. The report found that women earn 75 cents for every dollar men make. Sounds pretty conclusive, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not. It’s misleading.

According to highly acclaimed career expert and best-selling author, Marty Nemko, “The data is clear that for the same … [ Read more ]

Shawn Achor

A decade of research on high and low performance teams by psychologist and business consultant Marcial Losada shows just how important it is. Based on Losada’s extensive mathematical modeling, 2.9013 is the ratio of positive to negative interactions necessary to make a corporate team successful. This means that it takes about three positive comments, experiences, or expressions to fend off the languishing effects of one … [ Read more ]

The Importance of ‘Don’t’ in Inducing Ethical Employee Behavior

In a new study, HBS professors Francesca Gino and Joshua D. Margolis look at two ways that companies can encourage ethical behavior: the promotion of good deeds or the prevention of bad deeds. It turns out that employees tend to act more ethically when focused on what not to do. That can be problematic in firms where success is commonly framed in terms of advancement … [ Read more ]

A Team You Can Count On

Why are some companies able, or not able, to retain top talent? Knowing the answer is critical because high performance requires a knack for attracting, developing and keeping great people. Accenture discusses how top companies consistently recognize, nurture and hold on to the best of the best.

How to Balance Power and Love

Scenario planning and social change expert Adam Kahane suggests that to master large and difficult challenges, leaders need to learn to act and empathize simultaneously.

Boosting the Productivity of Knowledge Workers

The key is identifying and addressing the barriers workers face in their daily interactions.

William C. Taylor

I’m convinced that one of the big reasons for the failure of so many change programs is that by focusing almost solely on what’s wrong with their organizations, and by importing off-the-shelf strategies devised by outside experts consumed with what’s new, leaders undervalue what’s right with their organizations, and overlook home-grown strategies rooted in the wisdom of the past.

Roger Martin

The role of big companies is to turn great people into mediocre organizations.

Secrets of Positive Feedback

Have you ever noticed how a pat on the back makes you feel great for days? Sadly, kudos from bosses are all too rare. Over the years, I’ve worked on acknowledging others for their efforts. I’ve managed to marry tough-minded performance standards with tender-heartedness. As I’ve looked back over the more than 30 years that have passed since my career began, I have come to … [ Read more ]

Jonathan L. S. Byrnes

You can explain your vision. They can see your vision. They can buy into your vision. Then they’ll do what they are paid to do.

Avoiding Misunderstandings at International Meetings

English may be the lingua franca of business gatherings, but that doesn’t mean non-native speakers are always in sync. There are ways to bridge the gap.

Voicing Values in the Workplace

Professor Mary Gentile explores ethical dilemmas at work and how to act on them.

Jeffrey Pfeffer

Many of us learn the need to be liked by everyone early in our lives — it’s something to get over if you are going to negotiate a path to power.

Paying Star Employees Well is a Good Strategy for Innovation

Observers of Silicon Valley have always assumed that the most successful companies get their competitive edge by paying their star employees more than the competition to fuel innovation. Now research, co-authored by Professor Kathryn Shaw, and using the academic field of insider econometrics, has been able to prove that this assumption is indeed true.

A Bias against ‘Quirky’? Why Creative People Can Lose Out on Leadership Positions

It would be difficult to find a CEO or manager who says creativity isn’t a valued attribute of a good leader. So why do so many once-innovative companies get bogged down over time, with continuous original thinking the exception and not the norm? A new study co-authored by Wharton management professor Jennifer Mueller found that although creativity is often named as being important, individuals who … [ Read more ]

Building a Creative Culture in an Organization

Does innovation depend on “Eureka!” moments, experienced only by a lucky few? Creativity and innovation may seem like moving targets, but building a culture that encourages systemic creativity in an organization is possible, as IESE’s Paddy Miller and Azra Brankovic explain.

Corporate Revolution: Unlock Your Culture’s Revolutionary Zeal

Advantage is transient but companies are sticky: That’s why smart strategy should start with your capabilities and then seek a market for them, rather than beginning from the pot of gold and hoping you can walk upon the rainbow to where you are. By the same token, in a conflict between strategy and culture, culture eventually wins. Always.

That being the case, the only way to … [ Read more ]