During the webcast Q&A we spoke about leaders like Gordon Bethune who has developed an extraordinary ability to engage and inspire others. He distills down to a few basic beliefs: where people are in their hearts and minds and where they need to be to accomplish great things. Then he speaks to them in sound [...]
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Our first response addressed what seemed to be a time-sensitive and urgent question. This time we move to questions that can be grouped according to common themes. For example, questions about about your own behavior, about breaking out from the pack, about motivating others, about managing or being a female executive and about making transitions. So [...]
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
The time limit of an hour for presentation and Q&A allowed us to answer only seven or eight questions at the recent AMA webcast. We promised to answer the rest of the questions in the blog. We were, frankly, overwhelmed by both the positive feedback and the sheer volume of questions – almost 60 and [...]
Monday, March 17, 2008
Last summer, about seven months ago, several of the business owners and CEOs in my Vistage peer advisory group and a couple of my private practice clients began to see the signs of recession. Businesses driven by their clients’ hiring saw growth in hiring slow. Businesses dependent on credit began to see longer approval cycles [...]
Countless more ordinary people of equal talent never developed the leadership core required to run the show. Why not?
Is our behavior in the face of challenge determined at birth or by our environment? Are leaders born rather than made?
My obsession with what makes some ordinary people become extraordinary leaders led to my interviews with dozens of CEOs which Random House published in 2007 and to the Master Class series at Pace. The thesis is that there are particular “shaping experiences” which develop leadership traits and capabilities.
Epi-genetics is the new field of study that is beginning to confirm that nurture determines a lot about us: our behavior, our illnesses and more. Work on animals and on human twins shows that no matter your genome, there is a system of markers that switch genes on and off in a way that controls your reaction to stimuli. These markers are largely from environmental factors from what happened while you were in the womb, to how you were treated in your childhood, to stressful situations to pollution. And the markers you have accumulated can go-awry as you age.
The good news is that by treatment, including drugs, these markers can be added or removed.
Together with breakthroughs in neuroscience (how our brain works during different mental and emotional conditions), we are about to glean powerful new understandings relevant to our lives as well as careers.
For an intro to the field, view the PBS Nova Science Now program on the subject:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3411/02.html
That’s my view. What’s yours?
For a few years now, Jim Blasingame and I have shared stories, insights and practical suggestions for survival of small business in tough times. He should be your fave for an unlimited supply of helpful ideas for your business. Go to:
http://blog.smallbusinessadvocate.com/management-fundamentals/small-business-economic-challenges
and also to the home page of smallbusinessadvocate.com
Please let me know how helpful you find this great resource. Jim is, himself, a very successful small business owner who knows whereof he speaks.
As I said in a prior post, the fruit vendor on a nearby street corner in New York City told me he is working on becoming a bank holding company so he can get in line for a bailout. Is there no end?
Today’s announcement it was announced that insurance companies will be allowed to reduce the reserve capital they have to make sure they can pay benefits to customers when the time comes. Isn’t this converting insurers to be like AIG? Isn’t insurance with low reserves the same as gambling?
There was no accompanying clear and detailed plan for oversight. Just like the billions of dollars that have flowed into the investment bank.
That’s my view. What’s yours?
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
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