Something For Everyone

HOT READS FOR THE PRACTIONER

Title: Harvard Business Review (HBR – September 2008)

Competencies: self-development, career management, communication, interpersonal effectiveness, interpersonal sensitivity/empathy, adaptability/stress tolerance, visionary leadership, financial leadership, technological leadership, strategic problem analysis, depth of industry knowledge,

Who benefits: employees, managers and supervisors, executives

Consultant Usage: career consultants, organizational consultants, leadership trainers and consultants, executive coaches

What’s it about? Check out the September issue of HBR.  It’s got something for everyone in this issue.

If you are actively managing your career and have noticed that businesses big and small are having a bit of a rough go of it right now, then How to Protect Your Job in a Recession will have appeal.  I love the author’s lead-in: “Your company has a plan to survive hard times.  Do you?”  The article is filled with survival tips for employees of all levels in companies contemplating job cuts.

If you are a supervisor or manager, in a position of leadership, a leadership consultant or trainer, then Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership written by well-known and highly respected authors Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatizis is for you. 

Biology was never a strong suit during school hours, but I found the “why” behind why followers literally mirror their leaders to be interesting intellectually and intriguing in terms of practical application.  If you do go to this article, make sure to read the sidebars: “Do Women Have Stronger Social Circuits”, “Are You A Socially Intelligent Leader”, and “The Chemistry of Stress”.  

There is also an attached video of an interview with Daniel Goleman.

And if you are the big boss… or consult with the big boss, then by all means check out Seven Ways to Fail Big.  The authors write about the “inexcusable business failures of the past 25 years.”  Apparently if Ignorance is Bliss, a lot of American executives are very happy people! 

I am afraid I had a very cynical smile reading this article of failed strategic thinking.  During my working years inside four Fortune 100 companies, I saw all seven “sins” committed.  And not coincidently, all four have been acquired by other companies (and a couple those in turn acquired a second time as the new companies weren’t any smarter than the ones they bought). 

There is also an attached downloadable audio slideshow about how to avoid failure.

If you do read any of these articles, let me know what you think.  Until next week….

[tags]career, career management, job cuts, career plan, career planning, emotional intelligence, social intelligence, biology of empathy, social circuits, social neuroscience, mirror neurons,social skills, daniel goleman, richard boyatizis, business failures, business strategies, strategic planning, avoidable fiascoes, bill bradley, william bradley,  bradley[/tags]

 

 

 

Bill Bradley

Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.