Leadership

What Is Undermining USA Job Creation?

David Gardner — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:14:00 -0500

I attended a Silicon Valley COO Forum meeting this past week. Here’s what the participants concluded:

Got Courage? Then You're in Business

Corey Blake — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:52:05 -0500

I blogged recently about how important-no, invaluable-integrity is in business. As you may know, I believe that integrity should be the linchpin of every business, no matter how large or small. But tied up in integrity is something else: courage.

Leading change… Is the lock a key or a combination?

Melissa Dutmers — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:37:13 -0500

It’s clear to me that leading change is the most important skill—for organizations, governments, communities, and as individuals. So I’m fascinated by change.

I used to think that realizing successful change was about securing executive sponsorship, creating a sense of urgency, building a coalition of committed supporters, and following a structured change management process (plus a slew of other best practices).

Four Ways to Create a Better Future

Seth Kahan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:14:22 -0500

Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. – John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the USA

James Galbraith's Rx for Wall Street Reform

Michael E. Douroux — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:25:27 -0500

"The post-op on the great crash of 2008 continued in Washington Thursday as the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) held a hearing on financial reform.

'Unfortunately, the regulatory regime that failed so terribly leading up to the financial crisis is precisely the regulatory regime we have today,' Treasury Secretary Geithner declared. 'We need comprehensive financial reform.'

The intersection of change management and design thinking

Melissa Dutmers — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:51:34 -0500

When I read articles like Bruce Nussbaum’s, Life in Beta, I am more and more convinced that change management can teach us what (not how) we can do to lead change and design thinking can help us understand how. Humanistic thinking, a fundamental aspect of design thinking, can also teach us what we should do. For me, design thinking helps bridge the gap between mechanical change management methodologies and tools and realizing successful change (results!).

U.S. Economic Data Reports Flat 2010 Market

Mr Rickman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:19:38 -0500

Overall industrial production would have fallen except for a 1.6 percent surge for utilities. The Bankers Conference Board reports its index of leading economic indicators, which forecasts activity over the next six months into 2010, rose 0.3 percent last month, less than the 0.5 percent gain economists anticipated. The Mortgage Bankers Association nnounced more than 14 percent of American homeowners with a mortgage were either behind on their payments or in foreclosure at the end of September.

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The weight of Story

Corey Blake — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:59:44 -0500

This morning on my call with Katie and Annie I spoke mostly about my recent trip with Daniel Cardwell and our work together on “A Question of Color”. I told them about my first trip to the grocery store with Dan to stock up our cabin in preparation for our five days together and how unusual it was to go shopping with someone for the first time. The experience opened my eyes to how stories are often told between the lines. Imagine how much I learned about Dan when he reached for a dozen tins of sardines, four boxes of Nutrigrain bars, two cans of beans and three onions.

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Small Business Innovation Trends Mobile Enterprises

Mr Rickman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:15:44 -0500

Today, the number of unemployed in the U.S. has reached about 15 million, over 10 percent nationwide. As a result, millions of people are seeking new opportunities joining a growing trend of Mobile Office Entrepreneurs using the advances in communication technology, entrepreneurial creativity, and the ever-more-hectic pace of modern life all combining to encourage the rapid development of mobile businesses.

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Seniors and Women Small Business Startups Gain Momentum

Mr Rickman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:12:35 -0500

Who says entrepreneurship is only for the young. After all you need energy, stamina, relentless focus, and the most important thing, time on your side. Maybe! But a key to successful entrepreneurship is simply doing it. Regardless of age or circumstance, make your own opportunities and go for it.

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Seniors and Women Small Business Startups Gain Momentum

Mr Rickman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:12:25 -0500

Who says entrepreneurship is only for the young. After all you need energy, stamina, relentless focus, and the most important thing, time on your side. Maybe! But a key to successful entrepreneurship is simply doing it. Regardless of age or circumstance, make your own opportunities and go for it.

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Customer Care: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Part I

Tibor Shanto — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:21:39 -0500

Part I: The Good and The Bad

While I usually focus on B2B occasionally I need to unload as a consumer, especially when I encounter three very different experiences I faced as customers. One good, the other truly bad, and the third, well, that was down right ugly.

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Ted Turner on Visionary Leadership: How to See Over the Horizon

Seth Kahan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:44:45 -0500

It is my pleasure to introduce guest blogger, Andrea Meyer. Enjoy her post below!
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Why You Need to Keep It Together

John Baldoni — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:52:37 -0500

Here’s a story I like to tell audiences about keeping your composure. Imagine a five-alarm fire, a really big one that involves an entire city block.
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Employee Engagement Lessons from Fast Company’s “30 Second MBA” Part 2

Thomas Clifford — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:09:15 -0500

Here’s part two of my conversation with Ellen McGirt, Senior Writer for Fast Company magazine and Dean of Fast Company’s “30 Second MBA” website.

Part one can be found here.
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Day 3: A Question of Color

Corey Blake — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:35:30 -0500

Because we are at the bottom of a small valley in the Solomon Islands, the rain from behind us and from across the street in front of us was all flowing beneath our cabin on day three of this tropical storm. Not the best week to choose to hang out on an island off the coast. The water was raising on us so quickly, that we were forced to put garbage bags over our boots and walk through the foot deep water to get to the car. See Dan’s German born; he likes German cheese and he drives a Mercedes.

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The Dilemma: Bull or Bear?

Michael E. Douroux — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:22:12 -0500

Bull:

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Five Ways to Really Tick Off Your Employees

Roberta Matuson — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:24:25 -0500

A recent survey from Adecco Group North America highlights the increased dissatisfaction workers in America have with their employers. According to the survey:
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Day 2: A Question of Color

Corey Blake — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:17:00 -0500

Yesterday began early again and was one of those creative days that flowed from the get go. Dan and I hit a groove and Erin was awesome about getting me back transcribed material we were recording. We had a couple of striking epiphanies about origin vs. destination, about Dan’s experience in the military, and I figured out how to fit his unprecedented work with cancer into the story in a way that drives it forward.

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A Question of Color

Corey Blake — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:12:23 -0500

Yesterday was day 1 of a 6 day trip working with Daniel Cardwell on A Question of Color.

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Privatizing Gains and Socializing Losses

Michael E. Douroux — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:22:42 -0500

"Repealing Glass-Steagall was 'obnoxious' and a bipartisan 'absurdity'...

The end result of the repeal was you have 'taxpayers subsidizing risk-taking' on Wall Street...

'It's the most anti-capitalist thing I've ever heard of in my life.'

...Glass-Steagall wasn't regulation, 'it was common sense'..."

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Driving Dramatic Progress through Touchstone Events

Seth Kahan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:56:12 -0500

The original touchstone was basanite. It is a smooth, black stone used to test the quality of gold and silver. It was rubbed across the precious metal and the authenticity could be determined by the color of the streak produced. The word touchstone now means anything that tests genuineness or excellence.
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"Job Losses Could Trigger Round 2 of Banking Crisis"

Michael E. Douroux — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:10:18 -0500

"The unemployment rate now stands at 10.2%, yet stocks are at a 2009 high. The bulls will tell you not to worry; the unemployment rate is a lagging indicator. True as that may be, Charlie Gasparino author of The Sellout, has a word of warning: the jobs data may be a leading indicator when it comes to the health of our banking system.

One of Gasparino's sources, Calyon Securities banking analyst Mike Mayo (who warned of the credit bubble before the crash) tells him, if unemployment rises to 11%, 'there could be an issue where we have round 2 of this crisis.'

Why?

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Increase Sales Using Dynamic Marketing

Mr Rickman — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:05:21 -0500

As the choices of new marketing strategies and initiatives evolve, organizations constantly reevaluate what marketing initiatives to pursue and how much to invest in each marketing communications channel.

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Sales Results Developing Website Conversion Rates

Mr Rickman — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:35:11 -0500

A Website Conversion Rate is defined as the number of visitors or potential customer leads to your site that perform a desired action measured against the total number of visitors in within a specific timeframe (ex. 30-days).

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