Finally! The HP Board Makes a Brilliant Decision

September 23, 2011

Although not reported in any of the major media, I have it on good authority that the board of directors at Hewlett-Packard has finally made a decision that will more than compensate for the hiring gaffes they have made lately. They have decided to put a revolving door in the executive suite. Hewlett-Packard’s board met [...]

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The Profundity of “Rock, Paper, Scissors”

September 12, 2011

Unless you’re an only child, born to hermits who live in the remotest part of the world, you know the age-old wisdom of settling disputes with the “rock, paper, scissors” form of decision making. Theorists, academicians, and scholars have filled the shelves with lesser-known and less expedient forms of decision making, but this one reigns. [...]

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If Your Goal is Comfort, Success Won’t Be Your Results

September 6, 2011

Since referrals are the coinage of my realm, I recently asked an executive coaching client, Greg, the CFO of a large company, to refer me to another executive in his organization. Apparently it worked, because a week later one of the vice presidents set up a meeting with me. When I met the vice president, [...]

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The Jobs of Succession Planning

August 29, 2011

The resignation of Steve Jobs from Apple marks a sad milestone for both technology and leadership excellence. In recent years, no other enterprise leader has been so successful. Many consider him both a genius and a technology guru who had the temerity to ignore market research and push bold new products ahead of the market and [...]

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Don’t Assume Excellence: Have an Idea

August 22, 2011

Esteemed Irish colleague, Patrick Daly, shared this story on a website we both frequent: An economist, a chemist and a physicist are marooned on a desert island. Their only food is a can of beans, but they have no can opener. The physicist says, “Let’s try to focus the tropical sun onto the lid – [...]

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Happy Birthday Davy Crockett

August 17, 2011

Davy Crockett, celebrated folk hero, soldier, politician, and” king of the wild frontier” was born 225 years ago today, August 17, 1786. During his fifty years on earth, he served in the militia of Tennessee, represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives, served in the Texas Revolution, and gave his life at the Battle [...]

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There is No “But” in Apology

August 15, 2011

Just what we need: another Jane Fonda book. This time she supposedly explains how great life is after seventy with every manner of intimate detail about her romantic life. Who cares? She also takes this time to, once again, “apologize” for her behavior in Hanoi—well, sort of. She currently has a blog post entitled, “The [...]

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What’s the Budget Ceiling Got to do With Me?

August 5, 2011

Yesterday The St. Louis Business Journal sponsored a program for CFOs to discuss the current decisions in Washington and their impact on individuals and businesses. To make his point, one of the panel members asked audience members to raise their hands if their companies had laid off workers during the recent economy. While those people [...]

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Old Joke: Current Relevance

August 1, 2011

As the old joke goes, a reporter asked a business owner, “How many people work here?” “About half,” he responded. Recent research indicates that estimate might have been too ambitious for today’s companies because many leaders reported that only about 29% of their workfoce shows signs of strong engagement. What do the other two thirds do? [...]

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Vacation: Take It or Leave It?

July 26, 2011

Recent research indicates that only about 38% of employees use all their allotted vacation time, and it’s not the boss’s fault. Only about 5% of those in the survey said it was. So why don’t people take the time off they’re entitled to? One word—fear. With recent cuts to the labor force, people have developed [...]

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