According to a recent Gallup poll in 2014 companies promote the wrong person to a management role 82% of the time. In my book "Theory You" I noted that was one of the main reasons for writing the book. If we want to examine the problem there are several contributing factors that involve both the [...]
In response to a recent blog re: do as I do as a management tool one of the readers posted a message that struck a chord. Her response was: "management is really about common sense". I agree wholeheartedly with her viewpoint. When I taught management courses at Northeastern University I always took a few minutes [...]
In the past month I've had several instances where people have talked to me about a similar problem. Managers expect their subordinates to do as the manager says but not to do as the manager does. The instances have included wardrobe, promptness, and policy. In each case the manager violated the rules he had established [...]
In my book "Theory You" I talked about a principal observation I made while working around the globe; executives poor at managing themselves were equally poor at managing others. There were certain executives with whom I worked who were oblivious to the problems they created by their personal behavior. One issue they all had in [...]
I was recently asked to consult with a manager at a small firm re: the management style of the CEO. The manager was concerned about the number of resignations at the firm. In each case he believed the reason for the departures was the management style of the CEO. I asked him to describe the [...]
While we were at Jifundishe in Tanzania we held 5 business seminars. The attendees were a combination of students and members of the business community from the Arusha area. We discussed a number of topics during these afternoon sessions including: Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Global Marketing, Qualities of a Good Global Manager, Presentation Skills, Review of "Theory [...]
Jifundishe is a Swahili word that means "teach yourself". We are just back from a trip to Tanzania and the Jifundishe Free Library located in the Arusha area of Tanzania where we worked with over 100 students preparing them for their Qualifying Tests. The Qualifying Tests are conducted in English and the education system has [...]
Good managers make good decisions. What makes a good decision? There are a number of factors to consider when evaluating a decision. However, let's start with a premise that no one makes perfect decisions every time. Many decisions are open to interpretation. Since our goal is good decisions I believe there are four factors that [...]
Good managers make good decisions. The ability to make good decisions is a necessity for anyone seeking to reach senior management no matter the industry or the firm. Decisions come in all shapes and sizes and often arrive unannounced. They are never an "O.T.O." [one time only]. There are always decisions that follow decisions. In [...]
This week marks the end of 2015 and brings in a new year: 2016. This week is a perfect time to reflect back upon the past year and also set goals for the upcoming year. It starts with a commitment to be honest...honest to yourself. W. Edwards Deming, the famous management guru who revitalized Japanese [...]
