American Management Association reports that only 28% of senior-level business professionals are confident their companies have "sufficient leadership depth and no significant gaps in management.” Employee turnover is increasing as the economy improves, and this impacts company productivity, customer service, etc. In May of 2013, 2.2 million Americans voluntarily quit their jobs…meaning that the…

  "I will ignore all ideas for new works on engines of war, the invention of which has reached its limits and for whose improvements I see no further hope." –Roman Sextus Julius Frontinus, A.D. 80 What more could there be to learn, then? Wrong attitude.  We must be proactive in continuous improvement, while learning from (not blaming)…

  With 80% of the global population located in emerging markets (China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, Indonesia, Egypt, Malaysia, Thailand, Columbia, Venezuela), many companies are looking for leaders to execute their business strategies there. However, “developed country” mindset does not apply to emerging markets. Due to this, leadership talent in developed countries is not potable…

  It appears to me that rationalizing behavior in sports is on the rise. In sports, college football players’ acknowledgement of improper money payments rarely makes the news. A player’s admission of taking steroids for performance is becoming common. Academics workarounds to enable playing sports is not surprising. Why is it that: If the rules…

  In late 18th Century America, 19/20 workers were required to feed the country. Two hundred years later, it was 1/20  (Source:  Milton Friedman). Corporations, and their employees, must operate with velocity, as there will always be changing dynamics at work. This requires transforming skills in order to stay relevant. There is a fine line…

  Motivation makes progress possible…leaders must build that excitement and fire among their employees. Three non-cash motivators (Source: McKinsey) include: Praise from immediate manager, Leadership attention (i.e. one on one conversation), and Project/task leadership to “provide answers” for company’s future. Basically, all three make people feel valued. So why don’t more managers/companies do these three?…

  There are definite better practices in corporate performance management. Yet, do these standards identify the potential of engaged leadership, which goes above and beyond expectations–yet in their own way that may be unorthodox? Yes, there should be specific goals, immediate feedback, and a focus on technique instead of outcome. However, “out of the box”…

There is plenty of outcome uncertainty when investing in innovation. Therefore, it is important to mitigate the risks. This is especially true if your company invests a considerable amount in research and development (one client’s budget is 9% of revenue).  These structured steps can assist (and don’t jump to #8 as many do): Seek ideas…

One primary corporate growth tool is acquisitions; however, 40-80% of acquisitions fail to meet their stated expectations. Yet, they continue to be a dominant strategy for corporate renewal and expansion (market share, customer bases, future corporate revenues). How can a company reduce its acquisition risk? They need to focus on long term growth that is…

  More and more is written about the need to overhaul performance management: the process companies use to determine who gets more money, who gets promoted, and who is let go. A colleague of mine at one of the top companies recently said they were looking at throwing out most established and mature talent management…