Leadership

There is a set of management mistakes that managers make over and over again. Especially likely for newer managers, but it happens to more experienced people too. I’ve made all of these mistakes.

One CEO we interviewed said it beautifully: “In my daily top team meetings, I ask, ‘Who is having challenges? Who are the people I should personally reach out to at any level in the organization?’” There is a call to action to have a finger on the pulse of the organization. How do employees feel? Where do connections need to happen? It requires a... See more

If the product doesn’t work well, the code is not good.

“I can’t tell you how much time is spent worrying about decisions that don’t matter. To just be able to make a decision and see what happens is tremendously empowering, but that means you have to set up the situation such that when something does go wrong, you can fix it. When something does go wrong, it doesn’t cost you or your customer an... See more

My work identifies four fundamental organizational forms: the personal organization, like an entrepreneurial start-up; the programmed organization, like McDonald’s with its standardized processes; the professional organization, like a hospital, which relies on the expertise of its professionals; and the project organization, like a film company or... See more

Left unchecked organizations default to bureaucracy. People default to distraction.

It doesn’t take long for 3 priorities to become 10. It doesn’t take long for 2 people in a meeting to become 8. It doesn’t take long to move from people making decisions to committees.

The most productive organizations and people spend a lot of energy fighting what... See more