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?
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
There are countless reasons why CEO and senior executive turnover takes place; external factors such as economic volatility, disruptive technology, and industry shakeups can all play a part. But according to an article published in IESE Insight, a senior leader’s own perceptions are a crucial factor in their fall from grace. Sebastien Brion describes a […]
Read More… from Six Steps to Using Executive Power Wisely
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
What makes a message persuasive? Marketing departments everywhere are constantly looking for the answer to this question and much research has been conducted on this subject; previous research has shown that messages that have content that is easier to process can be more persuasive. Similarly, message framing and sequencing can also influence how persuasive a […]
Read More… from Optimal Marketing Claims: The Power of Three
In a popular article published by Harvard Business Review in 1999, the authors proposed that those who use stories as part of their management and strategy technique tend to become team leads, small business innovators, and CEOs. Whether the story is about the “two Steves” of Apple Computers who worked out of Steve Job’s parents’ […]
Read More… from Storytelling for Entrepreneurial Endeavour
A successful global leader is someone who can operate effectively across national boundaries and cultures, defining goals that will appeal to a diverse set of people, whether individuals in their own company or external groups and organizations. And although many skills are equally relevant to domestic leadership (i.e. business acumen, flexibility, interpersonal skills) there are […]
Read More… from The Role of Cultural Self-awareness in Global Leadership
Previous research demonstrated that a sense of power can give a person increased confidence and reduce that person’s stress — two outcomes that can only enhance the effectiveness of that person in interview or meeting settings. Through two experiments, a team of international researchers confirmed the interpersonal impact of momentary changes in power that can […]
Read More… from Priming Power to Influence and Persuade
The desire for high status is widely considered a universal human motive. Those with higher status tend to be listened to more, and are often perceived as having more power. It has even been argued that this desire is an evolved adaptation, important for ascending hierarchies as a means to secure resources. In recent years, […]
Read More… from Deferring to Others: When Able People Prefer Lower Status