Leadership

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

“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

Peter Cundhill on finding the right fit for talent:

“You can teach a donkey to climb a tree but it’s easier to hire a squirrel.”

When your primary goal is to be liked, you can’t take risks. You can’t disagree. You can’t push boundaries. You become a prisoner of other people’s expectations.

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

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