Leadership Articles

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...

Business » Leadership | By Carl Hoffman @ Sunday, 11th February 2007 @ 3:47 PM

When you are at work, do you get frustrated because things don't seem to be happening the way they are 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 goals. Then maybe its time for you to stand up and do something about it. Most people are content just to stand around listening for orders. And it isn't unusual to adopt a follow-the-leader mentality. But maybe, somewhere ins... more...

Business » Leadership | By Luis Luarca @ Saturday, 27th January 2007 @ 12:19 AM

When we talk about organizational management we are talking about how the leadership is organized to allow the company to function effectively and efficiently. You have heard it before: "I'm the President of the company because this business was my idea." "I'm the vice-President because I was the President's best man at his wedding", etc, etc. Believe it or not, many small businesses start out this way, but they find it difficult to grow successfully. Do... more...

Business » Leadership | By Michael Skye @ Wednesday, 24th January 2007 @ 1:00 PM

This is an invaluable distinction for the new revolutionary, the visionary, who is not focused on fighting over scarce resources, but looking to create the world she envisions. ORIENTATION: Compromise - 1. Giving up something important to gain something of higher value, yet feeling like you lost. 2. Choosing between two values in a way that wounds your spirit, drains your power and limits your vision. 3. Choosing from guilt, from fear or from a position. Sacrifice - ... more...

Business » Leadership | By Michael Skye @ Thursday, 11th January 2007 @ 3:30 PM

Today's visionary leaders who are making this shift in thinking, from "positionary" to "visionary" are inspiring themselves, their team and even their adversaries to greatness. These visionaries have the power to create a world that works for all of us, and they are whom the world needs now. Sadly many well-intentioned leaders and change agents fail to grasp this distinction, and that failure costs them more than they know. Slowly they lose their power to effect real,... more...

Business » Leadership | By Michael Skye @ Thursday, 11th January 2007 @ 3:28 PM

Today's visionary leaders who are making this shift in thinking, from a "position" to a "stand" are inspiring themselves, their team and even their adversaries to greatness. These visionaries have the power to create a world that works for all of us. Most of the brightest leaders, entrepreneurs and change agents still fail to grasp this distinction. Many try to stand for a better world while operating from a righteous or egotistical position, and thus are quite powe... more...

Business » Leadership | By Ed Oakley @ Monday, 8th January 2007 @ 5:10 PM

First, set aside analysis and criticism. They will be important later. Analytical thinking causes a creativity to stop. Once analysis and criticism enter the picture, people censor their thoughts and share only what they feel will be acceptable or what they can defend. Criticism in any form is the fastest way to kill creativity. Next, generate some good ideas to work with. Step back and look at the challenges you are dealing with from a distance. Force yourself to look at several different persp... more...

Business » Leadership | By Michael Skye @ Friday, 5th January 2007 @ 10:42 AM

Today's visionary leaders who are making this shift in thinking, from "goodness" to "greatness" are inspiring themselves, their team and even their adversaries to greatness. These visionaries have the power to create a world that works for all of us, and they are who the world needs now. Sadly many well-intentioned leaders, teachers and parents fail to grasp this distinction, and that failure costs them more than they know. Slowly they lose their power to effect rea... more...

Business » Leadership | By Paula Switzer @ Wednesday, 3rd January 2007 @ 11:43 AM

Recently, I found myself in an interesting discussion with my good friend and walking buddy. We first met years ago when both of us were starting our careers at IBM. As we reminisced about the "good old days", we remembered some of our early mentors who showed us the ropes, provided us with knowledge and insights. Perhaps one of their greatest gifts to us was the Art of Encouragement. As we reflected on "then" and "now" what hit us between the eyes is how seldom people ta... more...

Business » Leadership | By Kris Koonar @ Tuesday, 2nd January 2007 @ 9:12 AM

Those who like to interact with different people and work towards the improvement of mankind in general, find the role of a business coach very satisfying and fulfilling. If you possess the right skills required to become an efficient coach, you can earn a name for yourself, even as you become a source of inspiration to others. The very first benefit of being in this business is job satisfaction. Apart from the fact that this business pays well, there is also a sense of satisfaction that... more...

Business » Leadership | By Mark Shead @ Monday, 25th December 2006 @ 4:10 PM

Leadership is often defined as getting other people to do what you want. Using this definition it is no wonder that many people revert to using underhanded tactics to try to "trick" their followers into doing what they want. This is a shortcut to leadership and doesn't result in long term value. It is this type of "leadership by trickery" that makes people automatically suspicious of their leaders. If you want to develop a long term foundation for leadership, these... more...

Business » Leadership | By Leon Edward @ Tuesday, 19th December 2006 @ 5:23 PM

When you have goals for your business, you expect your employees to work toward those goals. However, more often what is occurring is that work time is becoming a social hour. When you look around and see employees hanging around chatting and not getting their work done, it can be extremely frustrating. There are things that can be done to eliminate the downtime of your office. There are times when employees wait for instructions and do nothing until they get them. They follow the leader... more...

Business » Leadership | By Mark Shead @ Friday, 8th December 2006 @ 1:17 PM

Ineffective leaders don't understand that actions speak louder than words. The expect people to listen to what they say not what they do. If you want to be an effective leader you need to lead by your example--not just what you say. I knew an ineffective leader who tried to lead by decree instead of by example. He would do things like mandate that the entire organization had to wear a particular dress code on Fridays which had previously been casual day. Then he would show up in ... more...