Holly Green
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…
Have you seen the new HBO made-for-TV movie called “Temple Grandin?” It’s a powerful story about a woman, Temple Grandin, who overcame autism to become one of the most influential figures in today’s livestock and animal husbandry industry. Not only is Temple’s story a testament to the ability of the human spirit to overcome tremendous…
Are yours updated or out of date?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…
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…
I have a confession to make – I love the NFL draft! I don’t sit in front of a TV for three days, hanging on every pick. But I like the suspense of wondering who will get selected first. I enjoy seeing the differences between what the experts predict and who the teams actually draft….
One of the biggest dangers in business is MSU, or making stuff up, especially when we don’t realize we are doing it. I see leaders and managers do it all the time, and the consequences to people and profits can be horrific. With the newly passed health care bill, our entire nation is about to…
Wow, what a year! 2009 has come and gone, and many of us are taking a huge sigh of relief. Going through one of the worst recessions in U.S. history will certainly take the wind out of your sails. But we appear to have weathered the worst of the storm. And while the economy might…
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays of the year. The days are still warm (in Southern California) and the nights are starting to cool. The stress of last-minute Christmas shopping trips to the mall hasn’t yet reared its ugly head. I do know the holidays are approaching quickly because my Google Alerts for “Holly…
There’s been a lot of talk in the media lately about the dangers of over-protective parenting. In fact, it’s gotten so bad that psychologists have coined a new phrase — “helicopter parents” — for the moms and dads who get over-involved in their kids’ lives. These are the parents who yell at the soccer coach…
Wait your turn. No pushing in line. Yield to pedestrians. Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Certain timeless rules are better obeyed than broken. But in today’s topsy-turvy business world, many of the rules that informed and guided previous generations of business leaders no longer apply. If you’re not breaking rules…
