I was once asked: “Why do you always insist on taking the hard road?” I replied: “Why do you assume I see two roads?” (Unknown) The temptation for managers to look for short-cuts in their respective leadership endeavours is pressing – increasing customer demands, sometimes unrealistic labour union expectations, pressure from the competition, shareholder needs,…
“Why are we here? What’s life all about? Is God really real, or is there some doubt? Well, tonight, we’re going to sort it all out, For, tonight, it’s ‘The Meaning of Life’“ (Monty Python) Those were the opening lines of the first song in The Meaning of Life, a film made by the British…
‘Force-multiplication’ is a term used in military science and warfare and refers to an attribute or a combination of attributes that dramatically increases (hence multiplies) the effectiveness of an item or group, giving the troops the ability to accomplish greater things than without it. The expected size increase required to have the same effectiveness without…
The stated customer service value proposition in much advertising and branding endeavours differs from company to company, but fundamentally attempts to suggest to the prospective or current customer that “we are here for you”. We will do things smarter, better, faster and more professionally. We will make it easier for you. We will provide you…
Getting bogged down by circumstances is probably not an uncommon experience for many – the stresses of life (one’s work and personal contexts) seem to close in on one and one gets “stuck”, immobilised and down-hearted. In spite of these negative emotions and at the same time, one is expected to be fully present at…
“In a child’s lunchbox are a mother’s thoughts” (Japanese Proverb) On occasion, I also took my turn as a parent preparing lunches for my children when they were in junior school. I was not that creative I guess in what I prepared, but was very creative in the way that I cut the sandwiches –…
In West Africa, I was enjoying working with and facilitating a workshop for a group of managers from a media company – having rigorous discussions about the topic ‘leadership style’. Many contended that “in that part of the world”, the only way to get things done to certain prescribed quality levels was to shout –…
“The success of your organisation doesn’t depend on your understanding of economics and organisational development or marketing. It depends, quite simply, on your understanding of psychology: how each individual employee connects with your company; how each individual employee connects with your customers” (The Gallup Organisation) Most employees are amazingly resilient and capable of coping with…
A friend of mine had the unfortunate experience of having a heart attack. He told me that it was like having an elephant sitting on his chest – the pain, the helplessness, the debilitation. Upon recovery, the doctor who had been attending him spoke of the new diet he would have to follow. Up to…
Business leaders are being stretched – having to make tough choices and subsequent changes for improvement, or even survival, in difficult financial times. These changes affect people, structure, processes, tasks and systems, so effective communication becomes essential during the whole change process (pre-implementation, during implementation and post-implementation). There is a big difference, however, between communication…
Behind the problems that routinely plague teams and organisations are individuals who either can’t or won’t deal with failed promises – some have just not performed well, missed deadlines or behaved badly; others have broken rules or have been involved in more serious issues. The managers that attempt to address these difficulties often do so…
Jack William Edouard Heuer was born in 1932 in Bern, Switzerland, as great-grandson of Edouard Heuer, the original founder of TAG Heuer in 1860. He holds an Electrical Engineering degree and a master’s degree in production and management from the Swiss Institute of Technology in Zurich. During his student years he was very active in…
