Have you noticed that problem solvers never run out of problems to solve? The old Harvard Business School model of problem solving is inadequate in todayâs business environment. When we focus on solving problem, we actually invite more problems. Organizations are beginning to understand the power of focusing on strengths in order to accelerate growth.…
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In three experimental studies, Christine L. Porath provides an empirical test of how rudeness affects task performance and helpfulness. Different forms of rudenessârudeness instigated by a direct authority figure, rudeness delivered by a third party, and imagined rudenessâconverged to produce the same effects. Results from these studies showed that rudeness reduced performance on routine tasks as well…
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In his introduction to the recent ‘State of American Management’ report,  Gallup’s Chairman and CEO, Jim Clifton, offers the following… “Most CEOs I know honestly donât care about employees or take an interest in human resources. Sure, they know who their stars are and love them â but it ends there. Since CEOs donât care, they put…
Read More âTrust is the linchpin to any relationship. And managing relationships is essential to working in a team setting, and to business success, period. For a number of complex reasons, trust is also the rarest and most difficult domain to conquer in organizations. For example, we tend to equate vulnerability with weakness. So, we never want…
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Projects of critical importance and impact are almost always done in a team setting. In fact, the ability to function at a high level within a team setting is what defines great companies. But not all of us understand the skillset required to be a great teammate. The impulse to achieve individual results and be…
Read More âAt present, the single greatest risk from the Ebola virus is managing communications around its threat, informing citizens in ways that inspire smart behaviors and avoid widespread panic. Misinformation invites irrational behavior, which in turn invites more misinformation. As cable news network health pundits and other informed sources are pressed to provide facts on things…
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What if there was a way to guarantee that the enterprise training you just invested heavily in would live on in the hearts and minds of employees? What if you could continually engage team members around important change, innovation, communications, or customer service initiatives? And, what if you could improve your connection to your customers…
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David Dobbs, in The Social Life of Genes, published in the Pacific Standard, posits that “Genes donât make you who you are. Gene expression does. And gene expression varies depending on the life you live. Weâre constantly building and re-engineering new cells. And that regeneration is driven by the contingent nature of gene expression.â¨â¨” Dobbs…
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Behavioral science has proven that subtle choices in framing a message can have a significant impact on outcomes and can dramatically improve transactions. The UK and other nations have begun to aggressively use behavioral insights to make subtle but meaningful changes in the delivery of government services. Their rapid iteration testing and experiments have the…
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Your organization has finite resources. You have finite resources. There is simply no room for waste. Aligning your business decisions with available resources is a good practice, but it wonât drive profits. Accountability will. If people, strategy, and cash-flow are important success drivers, then accountability is the practice that delivers the behaviors you need to…
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