According to a recent Financial Post report, “The most common reason people quit their US$200,000 tech jobs” isn’t because they were offered more money or better perks elsewhere. It’s because the job they are leaving isn’t fun - or because it’s unpleasant to see coworkers pushed hard, ridiculed or treated unfairly when difficulties or complications arise, as they inevitably do [...]
Ouch! You've probably felt the sting - when someone talks over you, dismisses your best recommendations or mutters a sarcastic quip about your accent, profession, age, professional experience or gender. Double ouch - if your antagonist has the authority to scuttle a deal you are putting together or red-line your career. At Ouch! or Double-Ouch! moments of truth, it's tempting [...]
The NY Times reported on “Jerks and the Startups they ruin.” Jerks often are oblivious to the seeds of damage they are sowing, creating a fraternity of "bro-culture" adherents, who see things the same way and egg each other on - rubbing each other the right way. Charging-buffalo innovation leaders seem invincible. They don't suffer fools gladly. They set a [...]
The bias against creativity is one of the 12 defensive traps that leaders have to overcome, if they want fresh bold ingenious high-potential people to bring forward a stream of fresh bold ingenious high-potential ideas. This article from Quartz says creativity is often perceived as a threat, even by the executives who want it. When the C-suite is threatened by [...]
With all of the volatile complex ambiguities facing anyone in business today, no wonder it takes resilience - grit - tenacity - optimism - courage to turn adversity into opportunity and thrive. But what happens when a leader’s Courage is so overpowering that it stifles the initiative - confidence - enthusiasm of coworkers or subordinates? And inhibits rather than vitalizes innovation? According to [...]
If you're an innovation leader who's been asked to build a strategy that can take a product, technology, alliance or service to a new level of value-creation - or transform a line of business to stay competitive in a volatile uncertain complex aggressive (VUCA) market - don't be surprised when your Courage is tested along with your intellect, creativity and [...]
"Before we wrote a single line of code or sketched our first product idea, we watched our buyers and users and saw their problems. We understood their frustrations - and saw what cost them time, money and misunderstandings. We understood how they worked and what they would and would not do with technology." That's what Mallorie Brodie and Lauren Lake told [...]
If you're "only" VP or Director (in American, not British, management levels) - it's tempting to look up the chain of command and ask, "Are our C-level leaders doing all they can to create an innovation culture?" And the answer, most of the time, is "No." So - what can you do if you're handed an assignment that asks you [...]
Groupthink. Maybe we should call it "the Theranos trap" - when a high-power hard-charging visioning true-believer CEO refuses to listen to risk assessments - and assumes her best hopes are validated because high-status marquis-value celebrities who know little about the business are WOW'd by the vision. Check out this post - and the article from the Washington Post about "the [...]
Case study: You be the coach - with this new Supply Chain Director This post is a real-life case we faced - working with the Global Supply Chain Director in a global pharma R&D corporation. The client's identity is disguised, of course. But the facts are real. After reading the facts, you be the coach - and offer your suggestions to [...]
