KEEPING THE WOLVES AT BAY — The Ever-Present Conundrum The recent events in the financial sector, while perhaps skirting the edges of legality, certainly highlighted the issue of the ethical dilemma often faced when increasing pressure to perform, deliver and maximize profitability butts up against moral and ethical (as well as legal) compliance. Certainly in …

It’s the Tues. after a long holiday weekend. Anyone have trouble getting motivated today? I know I sure was. I had a wonderful weekend and had to come back to an inbox full of emails and some training programs to prepare. How do you stay/get motivated when you just don’t feel like coming to work …

If you were asked the question, what are the most special moments from work you had this past year, would you be able to answer that question? Or does your work just sort of blur together? When we are truly present with our work we have the chance to make a moment that we’ll be …

There used to be hard-and-fast rules as to what was, or wasn’t, a special event. Today, everything gets that label, from a small cocktail reception, to a board lunch, to a Gala Auction for 1,000. Nonprofits think special events are cool and a great way to raise money, but they’re only partially right. Events are …

For nearly 30 years the heroic story of Johnson & Johnson quick action to remove Tylenol from the shelves after a deadly tampering incident has been folklore in business circles. So what do we make of the news today that The Food and Drug Administration is considering “additional enforcement actions” that might include criminal penalties …

Finances Are Just a Symptom, Not a Solution When people think of financial sustainability, they usually think of getting enough money to pay bills for the long-term. Then they focus on strategies to keep getting enough money. That’s the wrong approach. 1. Strategy for Sustainability — Be Realistic If an organization is trying to do …

Organizational Change Unveiled: Definition and Implementation Every now and then I gift myself with the luxury of time available for reflection, and I “mine” my own learning of what existed. What made that effort a successful change process? Why did that one and that one work well? First of all, my experience is that organizational …

Over the years, I’ve noticed four common types of “broken” Boards. One of the ways you can recognize them is by the comments that members make. Here’s the types of Boards and what you might hear members saying. 1. Detached Board “Why are you calling me to come to a meeting? What Board are you …

My grandmother was born in an ethnic neighborhood of Chicago in 1900 and had never seen a live cow growing up. In first grade her class was given cut-out farm animals and told to trace and color them. She had a cow to draw and painted it purple because she liked the color purple. The …

This blog entry is an introduction to transformational leadership theory. The core elements of transformational leaders are that they inspire followers to extraordinary performance and to a shared sense of commitment to a vision for the organization; encourage and challenge followers to be creative and innovative in their efforts to solve organizational problems; and focus on the development of the leadership skills of others through coaching, mentoring, and other forms of support.