The true measure of integrity in a firm is not comforting slogans on the home page of the company website, but how employees feel about whether top management, through its actions and behaviours, is living up to the promise. A culture of integrity exists when employees perceive top managers as trustworthy and ethical. "The higher […]
Read More… from How a Culture of Integrity Boosts the Bottom Line
Everybody dreams. Phantasmagoric ‘night journeys’ are part of life. It’s estimated that by the age of 60 most of us will have dreamed 197,100 dreams over 87,000 hours. The reasons why we dream, however, remain unclear. Oneirology, the study of dreams, has failed to produce a consensus. Some people argue that dreams are random firings […]
Read More… from Understanding Dreams: A New Tool for the Executive Coach?
The term ‘human capital’ encompasses the knowledge, skills and talents inherent in individuals. These skills represent an important source of productivity in an organization, and can be enhanced through training and education. But could an individual’s selection from a top educational institution constitute or signal that they will amount to a ‘better’ human capital resource […]
Read More… from Do Ivy League or Elite Educated CEOs Outperform Others?
Fear of death is a core part of the human condition. It’s been associated with everything from the enduring appeal of religion and spiritual beliefs to the desire to reproduce and raise children. It remains, however, largely ignored in management literature and mainstream motivational theories. Death is a powerful ‘stealth motivator’ that leads to defensive […]
Read More… from Mortality: The Ultimate Motivator
Treat people with respect and you encourage the kinds of behaviours that create value for shareholders and stakeholders. The high-profile scandals that have engulfed both the private and public sectors in recent years have focused attention on unethical behaviour — and ways to prevent it. It’s been acknowledged that organizations have to do more than […]
Read More… from How Conducting Appraisals Well Builds Ethical Behaviour
Traditionally, financial capital has been viewed as the primary promoter of growth and profitability for an organization. Though undoubtedly still important, executives have begun to realise there is something else that is even more crucial: human capital. How companies attract, develop and retain talent is fast replacing financial concerns, especially in light of the fact […]
Read More… from Securing Talent with a Superior Employee Value Proposition
Co-creation in the business-to-consumer (B2C) environment is nothing new. Many services — ranging from hairdressing to care for the elderly through architecture and interior design — have long involved close collaboration with customers and clients and long been ‘marketed’ partly through word of mouth. It has, however, been given new impetus — and a higher […]
Read More… from Co-creating with Customers: More Pros than Cons?
The next head of General Electric will be somebody who spent time in Bombay, in Hong Kong, in Buenos Aires. We have to send our best and brightest overseas and make sure they have the training that will allow them to be the global leaders who will make GE flourish in the future Jack Welch, […]
Read More… from Multicultural Experience: Better Performance, Better Job Prospects
Spending time overseas has long been associated with the development of a more open and optimistic view of humanity and the world. In his 1869 autobiographical work Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain described travel as “fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness”, arguing that “broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating […]
Read More… from How Travelling Abroad Builds Trust and Tolerance
The profile of leaders has changed over the decades, with a significant shift away from the notion of lifetime employment. The employee of the mid-twentieth century who climbed the ladder of progression to reach the top is a rare beast nowadays. Recent research shows how over the last 30 years the executive profile has evolved […]
Read More… from The Speed of the Ascent: Which Leaders Get the Top Jobs?