Leadership is probably the most discussed and least understood topic in organizations. The word itself yields more than two billion returns on Google. That alone should give you some idea, not only of its popularity, but also the wide range of opinions that surround it. So at the risk of adding to the billions of […]
In 1959, Frederick Herzberg published his now famous two-factor theory of motivation. It articulated two categories of activities that occurred in organizations, and which defined what compelled people to be productive. To this day, it continues to surprise organizations, managers, and scholars. The factors were named hygienic and non-hygienic. Hygienic factors were those things that […]
The business of business has always been to provide products and services to customers. Throughout the ages, plans have been made, resources organized, people recruited (or conscripted), and everything coordinated together so that as near as possible the desired outcome was realized. Of all these elements, however, there is one on which the success or […]
Organizational narratives are the manifestation of the shared beliefs an organization holds about itself as a collective. “Our organization stands for innovation,” is a common example; “This will never work here, we are too conservative for that” yet another. Corporate narratives that deal with the collective view the organization holds about itself often form and […]
Deadlines, conference calls, last minute items that pop up, personal commitments—there is a multitude of things that we have to accomplish each day. It is easy to fall into the habit of just crossing things off of our to do list, without being fully present as we get them done. Of course we are physically […]
Much is made of delivering value to shareholders. Ask any senior director, manager or member of the board what his or her goal is in the company, and that will be the most likely response. It’s predictable, and it’s a cop-out. More on that in a moment. The term shareholder refers to those who have […]
Management history is easily forgotten. All it takes is a generation or two to go by and some hard economic times. Then, when problems occur, solutions are sought. The belief is that the old ideas no longer apply, and that new ones must be found. What’s particularly surprising is just how often new ideas turn […]
Have you ever been blindsided by a colleague’s words or actions? Or maybe been part of a team that spent more time complaining about others in the business rather than collaborating and solving the business decision at hand? If you have answered “yes” to either or both questions then you are probably not in an […]
Jesse Jacoby
Erika Jacobi
