Why do businesses underperform? HINT: It’s not about having the right Strategy OR the right Plan. The secret, according to the study, lies in engagement and communication. And, even though the study was published almost a decade ago, the reality hasn’t changed very much, if at all.
When I was a young engineer at Procter and Gamble, Jack Stack was already becoming a legend in the business world for what he was able to do with a traditional, blue-collar workforce.
What’s wrong with having a conversation? For starters, conversations take place in real time and we can’t always control what we’re going to say. Some can be difficult to have and can get loud and unpleasant. Texts, emails, postings let us present the self as we want to be. They allow us to delete and edit. Our technology gives us control.
Creative genius is a myth. And great flashes of inspiration are never the work of just one person, even if one person gets all the credit. So argues author Kevin Ashton, technology pioneer and entrepreneur in his best-selling book, “How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention and Discovery”.
Standing room only! That’s how popular our 10th Annual Growth Strategies Breakfast was early this month. I’m sure it was because our speaker, John Ratliff, the Founder and former CEO of Appletree Answers has broad appeal to entrepreneurs and business leaders. He’s also refreshingly honest and transparent in sharing his own successes and mistakes as a CEO.
“When you teach people about how their brains work, they become more effective managers as well as leaders.” So says Dr. David Rock, Director of the NeuroLeadership Institute and a frequent speaker on TED as well as Google Tech Talks on such topics as “How to be a Provocateur” and “The Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distractions, Regaining Focus and Working Smarter All Day”.
