Leadership Lessons for Business from Trump’s Win In the post-election postmortem, analysts have been dissecting the Democratic defeat like blind men describing an elephant—each touching a different part, yet missing the entire creature. Hundreds of explanations have emerged, from messaging missteps to demographic shifts. But these are mere symptoms, not the underlying root cause. Attempts […]
Tag: leadership
The Loyalty-First Leadership Trap
Leadership Lessons from Trump While the controversies surrounding Trump’s cabinet picks made for sensational political theater, there are important management lessons to be learned. The principle of “loyalty trumping expertise” that appeared to guide Trump’s selection process is all too common in corporate hierarchies as well. So if you are a “career manager,” Trump’s cabinet […]
What’s Really Behind the 47:47 Poll for the Choice of the 47th President
Statistics knows everything: there’s a strong correlation between a state’s Democrat-leaning voter percentage and the proportion of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher. And if this correlation holds (spoiler alert: it does), we’re looking at some serious long-term consequences for democracy. I’m sticking to data here, not partisan b/s—this is straight math. A bachelor’s […]
Is leadership better than management?
This is a popular question, but I find the entire “leadership vs. management” dichotomy to be misguided and unproductive. Comparing the two concepts along the better–worse axis is almost from the realm of apples vs oranges. Originally, management was viewed as a formal organizational role focused on planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling resources to […]
The Insidious Art of “Patter” – And How to Resist It
A Leadershit Lesson from Trump Have you ever felt mesmerized by a politician’s speech or a salesperson’s pitch, almost unconsciously being lulled into agreement? You may have experienced the powers of “patter” – an insidious technique of using strategic repetition and cadence to bypass rational thinking. At its core, patter involves the strategic use of […]
UVALDE, BOEING, COJONES, and Shared Values
It took the US JD 604 days to acknowledge the glaring truth: the police response to the May 24, 2022, deadly Uvalde, Texas, elementary school shooting was “a failure that should not have happened.” Well, duh!.. One year, seven months, and 25 days, and nearly 600 pages later, the report highlights “a sweeping array of […]
The Transition: Employee to Managerial Role
Are exceptional employees bound for managerial success? Not necessarily. While being deemed a “good employee” may increase the likelihood of promotion to a management position, being a good manager requires a distinct set of personal traits, skills and values. In general, managerial roles require a unique skill set, often emphasizing “soft” skills. Being an employee […]
How to Develop Leadership Skills
You can become a better leader. Here are the top traits you need to develop. But don’t neglect an opportunity to become a trustworthy leader.
REBALANCING: A Message from Hurricane Ian
Hurricane Ian was sending us a message: Humans, it’s time to put your act together. It’s time to REBALANCE.
Productivity Challenges in the Knowledge Economy
Recently, Google announced a productivity improvement crusade. This is not unexpected. Google appears to be following the steps of many tech companies that went from boom to bust pretty quickly. It is noteworthy that they all had similar strategies and roadmaps, as many of them would become deliriously successful (read: obscenely profitable), then stagnate, and […]