“One doesn’t have to operate with great malice to do great harm. The absence of empathy and understanding are sufficient” (Charles M Blow) Don’t we all love ‘position’ – a title, a promotion, status? Yes, even neuroscience affirms that status is a need that we all have, not in the sense of greedy ambition, but…
“Set team members free to grow within the organisation” (JNM) We all want them in our respective teams – talented people who make a remarkable impact on our team’s efficacy. These ‘stars’ are innovative, positive, future-oriented, visionary and hard-working. They make us look good. Others start noticing our respective department’s inputs and outputs and hail…
Most “Chief Operating Officers” would love them – employees on the shop floor with biologically-enhanced capabilities. Much in the same way that Hollywood created films of super soldiers, like Bloodshot, Captain America and Universal Soldier, and then of course all the super-hero movies, company executives would love to create super-hero employees with the abilities to…
“It does not make sense to hire chess players and then treat them like chess pieces” (Anon) I was always taught to treat the cleaner like I treat the managing director/CEO – i.e., with dignity and respect. This should be true of how we treat people from every level in the organisation, particularly those that…
“A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better” (Jim Rohn) Disinterested managers, disempowered environments and a lack of opportunity to apply new learnings are some of the most common mitigating factors that prevent training from…
‘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…
All companies need them – talented individuals who are not just satisfied with the status quo, but rather who push the perceived boundaries of innovation, creativity and exploration to arrive at better ways of doing things, new or enhanced product suites and improved ways of supplying customers with exactly what they need. If encouraged and…
Mary came to work on that cold winter’s morning in Johannesburg, South Africa, making use of the public transportation system as normal, but seemingly now with a spring in her step. Arriving with a broad grin and a warm greeting, she said: “Great day for work” (and really meant it). I smiled to myself as…
After a successful change management project for which I was consultant, I was invited by the client to join them for an evening celebratory dinner at an upmarket venue overlooking the sea. Upon arrival, I was surprised to find one table reserved for nine people – as it turned out, the eight executives and the…
For many decades, 3M’s executives have focused on a constant flow of terrific new products. In order to achieve this, in 1956, the company instituted a catalytic mechanism that is now widely known: design engineers and scientists are urged to spend 15% of their time experimenting and inventing in the area of their preference –…
Having the opportunity of consulting and working within a number of industry sectors and various companies in many parts of the world, I am continually intrigued by the “motivation questions” that are so often asked – how can we motivate our staff well to achieve better productivity? How do we get our staff to take…
