What if you found yourself in a pie-eating-contest where the first prize is another piece of pie? For many, this resembles the reality of modern corporate leadership. In other words, the better you get, the better you better get, and […]
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On January 12, 2007, the famous violin player Joshua Bell played for an audience of over 1000 people. Interestingly enough, he played while dressed as a common street artist in the subway of Washington D.C. Mostly ignored by the apathetic […]
“We hoped for the best, but things turned out as usual…,” lamented the late Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin once. This blunt observation is applicable both in politics and in business. Why is it that organizations often spend a lot […]
On August 15, 1977, something remarkable happened: A strong radio signal was received by Ohio State University’s Big Ear radio telescope. Its source? The constellation Sagittarius. It had all the characteristics of extraterrestrial origin. Astronomer Jerry Ehman looked at the […]
As a young doctor in Vienna, Ignasz Semmelweis observed that the habit of washing hands by the medical staff significantly decreased the mortality rate of women giving birth in the Vienna hospital. Since bacteria would be discovered by Louis Pasteur […]
Walt Disney was once asked about the amazing speed of building the first Disney theme park: “How did you do this in 365 days?” a baffled reporter asked. “Well,” replied Walt Disney dryly, “we used all of them.” Future business […]
When the notion of kingdom came to the city of Uruk in ancient Sumer, it introduced a great many civilization firsts: the first king, the first laws, the first script, the first cattle and the first grains. Under the shadows […]
About three years ago, a group of senior executives enthusiastically told me that the massive success of their business was driven by strategic clarity, a relentless focus on the few things that matter and, finally, a culture of powerful execution. […]
How do you deal with email overload and become an email productivity ninja? I have come across dozens of techniques. I have tried them all. Here is my top three: 1. Apply the two minute rule. Your inbox is not […]
Recently, a senior operations executive shared with me his biggest frustration with his talented engineers. “You know,” he said, “every time my high-potential engineers join a business meeting with senior leaders, they end up with a list of action points. […]
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