Decisiveness under pressure requires high-ambiguity tolerance. When people tolerate, or even appreciate ambiguity, they demonstrate the ability to synthesize. As we recall from our chemistry classes, synthesis is the production of a substance from simpler materials after a chemical reaction. In high-stakes situations, like an M & A deal, leaders need to serve as theRead more
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There are two kinds of organizations: those with a strong strategy and culture of change and those going out of business. In other words, what got you here won’t necessarily get you to the next level. The Pony Express did not become the railroad, and the railroad did not become the airlines. Vanguards in theirRead more
As senior executives look for ways to improve their performance and ensure their success in the future, they consider many traditional approaches but overlook the one that stands to have the greatest impact on both their long-term personal and professional feelings of accomplishment—membership on a board of directors. Why? In my thousands of hours ofRead more
The age-old question lingers: Quis custodiet ipsos custodies? Who watches the watchers? In theory, shareholders, business owners, and CEOs scrutinize the actions of board directors, but the facts tell a different story. In spite of the New York Stock Exchange now requiring regular self-evaluations, many boards continue to function without them—or without doing them well.Read more
A major source of communication breakdowns is incongruence between the words that people say and the nonverbal signals that they send, largely because we lose sight of the fundamental truth: You cannot not communicate. Every second that we are in the presence of another, we are constantly sending and receiving messages, often silent, nonverbal messagesRead more
