Generalist CEOs are CEOs who have worked in different organizational areas, for a number of different firms, in different industries, or even in a conglomerate firm. Former IBM CEO and Chairman Louis Gerstner is a typical example. Before joining IBM, he had been a consultant at McKinsey & Company, had held senior positions at American […]
Read More… from Generalist CEOs Not Specialists Spur Innovation
Do soldiers make better CEOs? There is no doubt that the hands-on leadership lessons learned in combat — or in preparation for combat — can seldom be matched by any corresponding leadership learning from business school or a typical corporate environment. Given the stress of war or training for war, ex-military business leaders may be […]
When it comes to setting and achieving goals, power makes a difference. Those with more power are quicker to establish goals, and to take action to achieve those goals, than people with less power. To some extent, this is understandable: the powerful are less dependent on others and have greater control over outcomes. They also […]
Imagine a cellist, taking on different roles depending on whether he/she is playing with a quartet, a chamber orchestra, or a full orchestra. Today’s leaders are not dissimilar; they come together in different arrangements to undertake most of an organization’s decision-making. These groups of leaders, or ‘ensembles’, debate changes in their company’s direction, or draw […]
Read More… from Leadership Ensembles: 4 Blueprints for Senior Decision-Making
In a classic Harvard Business Review article published in 1981, Harry Levinson said “managing others… creates unending stress… Today’s managers face increasing time pressures with little respite.” Levinson’s view is not unique; in fact, leadership is still widely viewed as highly stressful. A 2013 Business Insider article describes being a CEO as an “incredibly lonely […]
Read More… from Leaders Less Stressed than Followers Due to a Sense of Control
By digitizing many business processes, organizations have begun to automate operations and how they interact with customers and suppliers. As a consequence, more and more aspects of our working lives are taking place in a virtual world—a world defined and shaped by “bits and bytes,” say James Petter (Vice President at EMC) and Joe Peppard […]
Read More… from Big Data = Big Opportunities: If the CEO Takes the Lead
There is a hotel in Japan — Houshi Ryokan — that has been run by the same family for approximately 1,300 years. Forty generations have managed to maintain control of the business, epitomizing what IESE Business School’s Josep Tàpies and Lucía Ceja refer to as “psychological ownership.” In their article published in IESE Insight, Tàpies […]
Read More… from Family Business Ownership and the Next Generation
The greying of the post-war baby boom generation and increasing life expectancy are threatening the financial sustainability of pensions systems in many industrialized countries. European governments are responding by raising the mandatory retirement age. But this could be a short-sighted strategy. Recent research suggests that working for longer can have a negative effect on cognitive […]
Read More… from Delaying Retirement Can Be Bad for the Brain
In 2010, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) changed its reporting requirements, calling for listed companies to detail their progress against voluntary gender diversity targets. This move on the part of the ASX is demonstrative of the increased global awareness of utilizing female employees, and how costly it can be for nations as well as organizations […]
Responsible leadership is a concept that can help link corporate social responsibility (CSR) and performance to actions on the part of policy makers and leaders. In a world where public trust in leaders is low and reputations of firms are often called into question, RL can help bridge the gap between that negative perception and […]
Read More… from The Four Orientations of Responsible Leaders
