corporate culture

Why Values Trump Rules and Regulation

BY Dov SeidmanMon Nov 9, 2009 at 2:59 PM

Everywhere I travel, I hear the same refrains: "We need more regulation," or on the flip side, "If we hadn't deregulated, we wouldn't be in this financial mess." More regulation could be a very good thing, but we shouldn’t rush to regulation without asking whether it’s a list of prohibitive rules or something deeper, something that inspires consistent and right behavior, says LRN CEO Dov Seidman.READ»

BUSINESS | Comment

Stop Playing Corporate Dodgeball…

BY Nilofer MerchantWed Oct 21, 2009 at 5:10 PM

Every company has untapped capacity for growth and success within its own four walls. But we are so busy playing a game I call ‘Corporate Dodgeball’ that we fail to drive great unifying ideas and success through our organizations. READ»

BEHAVIOR | 2 comments

Sustainability: It's Not About Light Bulbs

BY Dov SeidmanThu Oct 1, 2009 at 3:05 PM

To many people, sustainability means solar panels, wind turbines and LEED-certified buildings. But sustainability is more than just going green or being green. It's a way of thinking about business — a mode of leadership and behavior that aims to create lasting value as opposed to piling up short-term transactional wins, says Dov Seidman. READ»

BEHAVIOR | 1 comment

Why I Don't Want the Recession to End Yet

BY Dov SeidmanWed Jul 22, 2009 at 2:56 PM

As a CEO, I'm eager to put the recession to rest, says Dov Seidman. At the same time, how could we not take this opportunity to ask fundamental questions? Now that there are signs of recovery, there's a part of me — and I'm reluctant to admit this — that doesn't want things to get too good too fast. We could use more time to understand what went wrong with our economy.READ»

BEHAVIOR | Comment

Indonesia Tries Honesty Policy to Rebuild Trust

BY Dov SeidmanFri Jul 17, 2009 at 3:37 PM

Years ago, I heard about an unusual doughnut vendor who asked people to pay what they owed, and make change for themselves, says Dov Seidman. The practice told his customers that he trusted them to be honest. Indonesia’s cashier-free “honesty cafes” do the same thing. The best way to rebuild trust is to extend trust to others.READ»

BEHAVIOR | Comment

A Call for Reconnecting With Values

BY Dov SeidmanMon Jul 13, 2009 at 1:58 PM

Like many of you, I have followed the recent headlines related to Pope Benedict XVI’s call for a “return to ethics in the global economy.” I was meaningfully struck by his desire to see business reconnect with values in these troubled times.READ»

BEHAVIOR | Comment

A Call for Reconnecting With Values

BY Dov SeidmanMon Jul 13, 2009 at 1:54 PM

Like many of you, I have followed the recent headlines related to Pope Benedict XVI’s call for a “return to ethics in the global economy.” I was meaningfully struck by his desire to see business reconnect with values in these troubled times.READ»

BUSINESS | Comment

The Culture of the Bag

BY Rocky TilneyWed Jul 8, 2009 at 1:10 PM

My wife and I have this on-going joke about the baggers inconventional grocery stores and how they get all flustered when you bring in your own reusable bags. This afternoon we brought in two bags from Whole Foods and were ...READ»

BEHAVIOR | Comment

Why Bernard Madoff is NOT a symbol of our times

BY Dov SeidmanMon Jun 29, 2009 at 11:47 AM

Lots of attention will be paid this week to the sentencing of Bernard Madoff, and rightfully so. But if we pay too much attention, we risk missing the bigger or more important story of how the U.S. wound up in the longest recession since the 1930s. READ»

BEHAVIOR | 4 comments

The Importance of Inspirational Leadership

BY Dov SeidmanFri Jun 12, 2009 at 7:43 PM

Historically, business has used carrots and sticks to get performance OUT of people. Today, we need to become leaders who can INSPIRE performance IN people.READ»

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT | Comment

Management styles - renewal needed

BY Robert HellerTue Dec 16, 2008 at 7:44 PM

Management has never really been accepted as an exciting or thrilling activity. However, this is mostly due to ignorance. Only a small amount of people have direct experience of what’s involved in management, what managers are like, ...READ»

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT | Comment

Business strategy and opportunity in dark times

BY Robert HellerWed Nov 26, 2008 at 9:05 PM

In these days of pessimism and gloom, anybody can be forgiven for looking back nostalgically at the days when venture capitalists, for example, would sound a far more bullish note, ringing the bell for opportunity. For example: ...READ»

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT | Comment

What should managers do when things go wrong?

BY Robert HellerMon Nov 17, 2008 at 9:29 PM

Whatever the causes, there can be no doubting the result. The world is going through a period of acute economic anxiety and falling economic performance, both in large matters and small. In a sense, everybody has been here before. ...READ»

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT | 2 comments

The lessons of Total Quality Management

BY Robert HellerTue Nov 4, 2008 at 8:07 PM

Every manager knows that appearances should match the realities of the business or other organisation. What do users of your products and services think about these offerings and the experience of using them, and, how do these real ...READ»

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT | Comment

Management by numbers

BY Robert HellerSun Oct 26, 2008 at 12:35 PM

Plans, projections, decisions, debates, results – all these and many more depend on the provision and calculation of outcomes (forecast or achieved) measured in monetary terms. However, very few managers have paused to consider ...READ»

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT | 1 comment

Management by example

BY Robert HellerThu Oct 16, 2008 at 3:34 PM

Whether it’s finance, marketing, production, strategy, human relations or any other discipline, managers accept that the subject is teachable and that, once taught, the lessons will bring value to managers and the organisations ...READ»

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT | Comment

Measuring management and leadership

BY Robert HellerWed Oct 8, 2008 at 7:01 PM

Today’s super-bosses get salaries, of course, and very large ones at that; but they also receive ‘performance-related’ bonuses of great size, plus even more magnificent stock options and other wonderful rewards, from massive ...READ»

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT | Comment

The management style of making it happen

BY Robert HellerTue Sep 30, 2008 at 1:37 PM

Sir John Harvey-Jones, who died back in January at the age of 83, was a company man, a hired hand whose promotion to chairman of ICI was the final stage in his rise through the executive ranks. Thanks to inertia, ICI, as a ...READ»

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT | Comment

Corporate culture and incentives

BY Robert HellerTue Sep 23, 2008 at 10:05 AM

How, why and by how much should people be incentivised? Are incentives and motivation identical partners? Why do gross errors occur, and how do you guard against them? And how exactly do you use error as a springboard for ...READ»

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT | Comment

The Role of the CEO in Business Management

BY Robert HellerTue Sep 16, 2008 at 9:15 AM

A familiar gibe against the over-managed company is that it has ‘too many chiefs, and not enough Indians’. Whether or not that’s generally true, management certainly has more Chiefs than it did. There’s the Chief ...READ»

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT | Comment

Management by leadership

BY Robert HellerTue Sep 9, 2008 at 9:57 AM

Management has always been hard to define. Gurus and managers both differ about whether the activity is art or science or craft or discipline – or if it is inspirational or mathematical. The source of this uncertainty is the fact ...READ»