I read this over on Terry Starbucker’s blog a while back and wrote it down in my notebook. The 7 most important words in management are: “I don’t know but I will find out” When you are blocked for an answer and under pressure and tempted to guess… remember the seven important words.
I am in IESE Business School’s library today. I am reading Jeffrey Pfeffer‘s article “HR’s most important task“. He starts: “Here is a paradox. In the financial markets, investment information is rapidly and efficiently diffused. New product and service innovations, be they junk bonds, new forms of options, or debt securities that allocate and price risk in … Read more
Productivity put simple. This is a guest post by Dimitri Uralov, a Barcelona based entrepreneur and financial coach. When Conor offered me the chance to write a post on time management for this blog, we laughed as I commented that most people would probably find the truth about productivity too simple. “Most people would probably find … Read more
I have a page of notes in my notebook about asking questions. In the spirit of breaking the mold of my blogging, I will dump it here unedited… and a bit of commentary and James Joyce style flow of consciousness thinking to follow. The best answer is a question. Ask question = control power, help … Read more
Why do some employees earn massively more money than others? Does Leo Messi or Christiano Ronaldo work harder than Bob Smith or John Doe? More hours? Better formatted CV? The 5 Forces of More Money In this post I do a quick thought experiment – using a tool from MBA Business Strategy 101 to look … Read more
I just watched Michael Feiner, a professor at Columbia Business school, on Authors@Google. He talked about leadership. Jack Stack, author of the great game of business says that there are two disciplines needed in a company: optimization and innovation. I think that these overlap with the skills of management and leadership. Management is about predictability … Read more
There are only three types of work: Bad work Good work Great work I think you probably know what sits in each of these categories. Bad work is pointless. It is a waste of time. It is the basis of Dilbert cartoons. Sadly, most organisations are superb at creating bad work: bureaucracy, meetings to plan … Read more
A couple of years ago I had some discussions with Solera Capital about taking on a role in Europe leading the change at a company called Audatex, an insurance claims adjustment business. Solera explained their simple, three part philosophy that they apply to managment of their acquired companies: 30/30 80/20 90/10 30/30 – Every manager … Read more
I was on the Air Europa flight back from Madrid sat with JC Duarte and Manuel Vidal-Quadras. At a certain point we watched as JC pulled up an impressive iPhone application that allows him to track his time. This led to a discussion about how to be effective with time. I feel that I am … Read more
Should we focus on the ends to improve the means or focus on the means to improve the ends? On Monday I spent a couple of hours at IESE in a research seminar where Harvard Professor Julie Battiliana presented her research on professional and organisational identity in two Bolivian commercial microfinance institutions. BancoSol and Banco … Read more