Holly Green
If you could do ONE thing to make 2011 your best year ever, what would it be? According to three out of every four respondents in a recent Better Homes and Gardens survey, it would consist of “decluttering” their lives. In other words, getting rid of all the stuff that seems important (but really isn’t)…
Some people get all stressed out about the holidays that start this time of year. All the shopping to do. Decorations to put up. So many people to see. So much food to cook (and eat). All those extra pounds to lose after the holidays. For me, holidays are just the opposite. They’re a time…
As business leaders, we like to think of ourselves as thoughtful, rational creatures that carefully weigh all the evidence and then make logical, informed decisions. If only it were that simple. Far too often, our “rational” decision-making processes fall victim to our own preconceived notions about how the world should work, as well as a…
If you follow the tech industry you probably noticed Google’s decision to shut down their much-ballyhooed Google Wave after only one year of operation. You might also have noticed the”wave” of criticism from technology bloggers and industry writers that immediately followed. For those not familiar with it, Google Wave is a real-time collaboration tool that…
Andy Grove, the founder of microchip giant Intel, once said, “Business success contains the seeds of its own destruction.” Just look around and it’s hard to argue with him. General Motors. Enron. Washington Mutual. Lehman Brothers. PanAm. The landscape is littered with once-dominant companies that have lost their position of market leadership or gone completely…
Are yours updated or out of date? Have you taken a serious look at your customer relationships recently? If not, now would be a good time. Recently, IBM polled more than 1500 CEOs, general managers, and public sector leaders around the globe on a variety of topics, including customer relationships. This cross-section of executives represented…
Have you been watching the World Cup? I am a huge soccer fan and really enjoy the World Cup because it’s such a fascinating international spectacle. Plus, it never fails to serve up some interesting lessons that have real application in the business world. For example: Life isn’t always fair. The U.S. team was victimized…
Last week I wrote about how the IBM report, “Capitalizing on Complexity: Insights from the Global Chief Executive Study,” suggested that a majority of CEOs around the globe felt ill-prepared to deal with the increasing complexity in today’s business world. In response to this finding, IBM asked business leaders to prioritize the three most important…
The world is only going to get more complicated and move faster – will you be one of the few keeping up? Have you responded to the wakeup call that has been sounding for business leaders? For the past few years I’ve been talking about and sharing with anyone who will listen – clients, seminar…
It’s been said that in today’s chaotic markets, the only sustainable competitive advantage may be the ability to learn faster than your competitors. I disagree. The ability for leaders and managers to learn quickly is certainly a critical advantage. Especially in industries where new technologies and/or rapidly changing customer expectations can disrupt the status quo…
Running a red light in order to save a few precious seconds is one of the dumbest, most irrational things people do. Yet we do it all the time, in business and in real life. The other day, while driving home from a long session with a client, the light in front of me suddenly…
Have you ever noticed how when people talk about what lies ahead we always say the future? As if there is one, and only one, immutable future that will come to pass. Fact is, there are an unlimited number of possible futures, and it’s up to us to create the one we want. This is…
