Then Prime minister Margret Thatcher, after a cabinet meeting in Brighton

, was reviewing documents with two staffers.  She had just excused herself to visit the rest room when a bomb went off uner the chair she had been sitting in.  Her  staffers were critically injured but she escaped unharmed.  The next day  terrorists sent her a message, “...

Like an expert jazz group, successful small companies can create beautiful

music because a limited number of players are motivated by the founder’s vision. They know the team’s strengths and limitations, cover for each other, are experts at; shooting from the hip, changing direction on the fly, and multi-tasking.  In short, they will do whatever...

Culture can be defined as a collective set of habits used by a group to

get things done. You’ve had experience breaking a personal habit—imagine how tough it is to break an unwanted  corporate habit.  Yet, many CEOs begin culture change initiatives with a “so it is written, so it is done” expectation.  Successful culture change (like breaking...

There is growing understanding of the need to delight customers who now

have more options than ever before,to take their business elsewhere.  Successful executives have gone beyond traditional customer service slogans and rhetoric—expanding their focus to include the entire “partner chain”.They understand that in order to delight customers,...

The following is an excerpt from The Baton Management System more visit

CEOs who set a good example  by adopting a “do as I do—not as I say” attitude with direct reports (particularly in terms of how to supervise) are a primary  leading- indicator of corporate  success in the “shift-age”.  Compliance by senior executives  to company-wide supervisory protocols is an essential factor in the  maintainance...

Most executives use metrics related to the output of group(s) reporting

directly or indirectly to their direct reports to assess the performance of each subordinate (what a poor choice of words).  For example the VP of sales is typically measured on sales numbers.  At first glance, this common practice makes sense, but using bottom line numbers exclusively...

 Have you been struggling with radical changes in your world?  In the

olden days, with more fat in the system, we could afford waste, rework, and high-risk initiatives.  Executives danced shamelessly from one silver bullet to another.  Management teams would return from offsite planning sessions with their eyes blazing—another grand solution...

Those who are influenced by surveys and polls, fail to take into account

After  public debates or important addresses,  media pundits are assembled to tell “them” what they just saw, heard, and felt.  The media has an underlying agenda to manufacture ratings, so they “spin” towards sensationalism rather than seeking truth or clarity. The media’s increasing influence over what “them” hears and sees...

The term “to lead” implies inspiring self and others to move towards

...

 Individuals (including CEOs) are an irrelevant unit of any culture. 

Things start happening only when they connect with other people, places and things. What exists inside a single head or heart remains a figment of imagination until it gets expressed.  The relationship you have with other people, develops exclusively from the signals you send—...