Leadership Articles

Business » Leadership | By Tony Jacowski @ Tuesday, 1st May 2007 @ 3:46 PM

The Black Belt Theme A certified Six Sigma professional is one who is an expert in explaining as well as deploying Six Sigma philosophies and principles, including managing supporting system and tools. A Black Belt professional understands team dynamics and has a complete understanding of all the models of Six Sigma and the ability to identify non-value-added elements and activities. Training Versus Hiring Black Belts Assume that a business has decided to fully deploy Six S... more...

Business » Leadership | By Melih Oztalay @ Tuesday, 1st May 2007 @ 3:29 PM

New Research shows that senior managers analyze and act on problems far differently than their more junior colleagues do. Those whose thinking does not evolve may not advance. The job of a manager is, above all, to make decisions. At any moment in any day, most executives are engaged in some aspect of decision making: exchanging information, reviewing data, coming up with ideas, evaluating alternatives, implementing directives, following up. But while managers at all levels must play the ... more...

Business » Leadership | By Melih Oztalay @ Friday, 27th April 2007 @ 7:53 PM

Your organization can become more decisive - and can implement strategy more quickly - if you know where the bottlenecks are and who's empowered to break through them. Decisions are the coin of the realm in business. Every success, every mishap, every opportunity seized or missed is the result of a decision that someone made or failed to make. At many companies, decisions routinely get stuck inside the organization like loose change. But it's more than loose change that's a... more...

Business » Leadership | By Martin Haworth @ Wednesday, 25th April 2007 @ 11:47 AM

How are you with rewarding your people? The occasional box of chocolates. Maybe an away day 'Team-Building', dressed up as learning, with a few (or a lot of) beers at the free bar! Sometimes you'll recognise just one person for a particular effort. Other times all of your people need recognition for a team result, where a big goal has been achieved overall. Recognition by reward is, frankly, fraught with difficulties! Indeed in teams where your manageme... more...

Business » Leadership | By Martin Haworth @ Friday, 20th April 2007 @ 11:07 AM

To be up there with the best strategic thinkers, you need to use the left and right sides of your brain, a skill which takes practice as well as confidence. Having the logic and creative sides to your skillset are of immense value. Here are some skills that the very best strategic thinkers have, and use, every day. They Have a Vision They are great at both thinking with a strategic purpose as well as creating a Visioning process. They have both tools in their kit and they u... more...

Business » Leadership | By Louis Bonaventura @ Friday, 6th April 2007 @ 2:09 PM

Much has been written about leadership: rules, pointers, styles, and biographies of inspiring leaders throughout world history. But there are certain leadership ideas that we fail to recognize and realize in the course of reading books. Here is a short list of things you thought you knew about leadership. 1. Leaders come in different flavors: There are all different types of leaders and you will probably encounter more than one type in your lifetime. Formal leaders are those we el... more...

Business » Leadership | By Louis Bonaventura @ Thursday, 5th April 2007 @ 12:35 PM

There are 5 basic parts to building an effective and efficient team. If you incorporate these 5 basic principles you and your team will be successful and unstoppable! Principle #1 - Training: In order to motivate people to learn, show them how the training can improve their lives and their potential. During this process, you will further your own goals through implementing and supporting learning activities. There are few things you need to keep in mind. Don't skip the basi... more...

Business » Leadership | By Ronald Finklestein @ Monday, 2nd April 2007 @ 7:34 PM

A local newspaper recently ran this headline "Ohio lost 200,000 manufacturing jobs". They blamed competition from India and China. In a recent article, Business Week discussed how Call Centers are being sent off shore, sending 10s of thousands of jobs overseas. Dell, Citigroup, Microsoft, General Electric and others major corporations now have oversea call centers. Microsoft and GE have one of the world's most productive research and development centers in India more...

Business » Leadership | By Pat Archer @ Tuesday, 27th March 2007 @ 7:35 PM

We live in turbulent times - times that challenge the business leader and call upon new and softer skills. Global, local and organizational factors all contribute to a workplace where stress is overtly present, or worse, flies just under the radar. As an inspired leader - one with relational intelligence - you will bring recognition, resources and resilience to your team. To many, our world - including our business world - appears to be de-stabilized in an unprecedented manner. They note... more...

Business » Leadership | By Pat Archer @ Monday, 26th March 2007 @ 11:10 PM

Watching our politicians at work, those referred to as 'The Honourable Member', is eye-popping instruction on leadership integrity. In politics as in business, leaders earn the 'honourable' designation not by words, but by deeds - deeds in relationship. By that measure, politicians aren't banking much! Any leader can speak the right words: they can purport to uphold values such as inclusion, accountability and respect. But it is in their treatment of others that a... more...

Business » Leadership | By Louis Bonaventura @ Monday, 26th March 2007 @ 2:21 PM

Imagine yourself as a dart board. Everything and everyone else around you may become dart, at one point or another. These darts will destroy your self esteem and pull you down in ways you won't even remember. Don't let them destroy you, or get the best of you. So which darts should you avoid? Dart #1: A Negative Work Environment Beware of the "dog eat dog" theory where everyone else is fighting just to get ahead. This is where non-appreciative people usually thrive. ... more...

Business » Leadership | By Louis Bonaventura @ Tuesday, 20th March 2007 @ 4:07 PM

When you are at work, do you get frustrated because things don't seem to be happening the way they're supposed to be? You see people milling around but nothing gets accomplished. And in the daily hustle and bustle, do you feel that your goals remain just that - goals? Then maybe its time for you to take control and do something about it. Most people are content just to stand around waiting for orders to be thrown at them. And it isn't unusual to adopt a "fo... more...

Business » Leadership | By Ronald Finklestein @ Tuesday, 20th March 2007 @ 3:35 PM

How does a small company become successful? It is such a provocative question that it prompted me to do some research. Despite the bad news we so often hear about businesses closing or moving, I found some encouraging news. After interviewing and working with many small companies, common trends began to emerge regarding what they did to be successful. There are a total of fourteen principles and the successful companies implement most, of not all of these principles: attitude, sales, business st... more...

Business » Leadership | By Martin Chandra @ Wednesday, 7th March 2007 @ 6:07 PM

I have worked with hundreds of prospective business school applicants during their preparation for the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). Recently, I used my extensive experience in this arena to help design the GMAT Exam Simulator software distributed by Upstart Raising to GMAT Preparation providers and tutors worldwide. Since we began offering this educators' software direct to students, I have received many inquiries from MBA candidates interested in the finer points of ho... more...

Business » Leadership | By Tony Jacowski @ Tuesday, 20th February 2007 @ 5:07 PM

The success of any Six Sigma initiative depends on the ability of the professionals, who are entrusted with the task of implementing the 6 Sigma concepts and methodologies. Business organizations often employ Six Sigma Black Belts, who are qualified and certified by the parent company. However, qualification and certification are not the only prerequisites. Black Belts are required to exhibit the requisite skills, experience and creativity to overcome basic organizational challenges. Bla... more...

Business » Leadership | By Michael Skye @ Friday, 16th February 2007 @ 4:57 PM

Some people operate from faith, some from vision. Both are invaluable for tomorrow's leaders and creators. Learn the distinction between faith and vision, and how you can leverage each. INTRODUCTION: Before exploring the distinctions between these two concepts, consider that what is meant by any word is determined largely by the context in which it is used. So, rather than assuming you know what is meant here by faith and vision, look closely to understand the context in which... more...

Business » Leadership | By Michael Skye @ Friday, 16th February 2007 @ 4:39 PM

"The problems we have now in communities and societies are going to be resolved only when we are brought together by a common sense that each of us is a visionary. Each of us must come to the realization that we can function and live at the level of vision rather than following some great leader's vision. Instead of looking for a great leader, we are in an era where each of us needs to find the great leader in ourselves." -Werner Erhard In the twentieth century, it might ha... more...

Business » Leadership | By Michael Skye @ Thursday, 15th February 2007 @ 2:32 AM

What is the difference between a dream and a vision? The dreams you see while asleep at night are a metaphor for the kind of thinking that happens when you fantasize while awake. We often call this "day dreaming" or creative imagination. The vision you see when you are awake and looking at reality with your eyes is a metaphor for the kind of thinking that happens when you look to your future with your mind's eye. The inner world (past, present and future) you see is bu... more...

Business » Leadership | By Regina Maniam @ Monday, 12th February 2007 @ 9:43 PM

Have you felt the need for an effective leader in your work place? Have you felt frustrated that there are a lot of activities and yet nothing seems to get accomplished? Targets and objectives are forgotten. Is it then time for you to do something about it? It is quite typical for most people to follow the leader and be content. But maybe you are different and deep inside you are leadership qualities that make you want to take the lead and achieve results. Even if you think you na... more...

Business » Leadership | By Kris Koonar @ Monday, 12th February 2007 @ 1:59 PM

If you are passionate about helping business-owners profit from their maximum potential, you can consider becoming a business coach. Business coaches come from different backgrounds and lifestyles, but they need to have certain common characteristics such as a passion for the business, commitment and the willingness to make a difference. Many times, business coaches miss the opportunity to grow professionally because they do not want to slow down. One way to break this cycle is to center... more...