Leadership, competitiveness and best practices on business management
Workplace Survey, Findings 1.Workers are struggling to work effectively. When focus is compromised in pursuit of Collaboration, neither works well. 2. Effective workplaces balance focus and collaboration. Workplaces designed to enable collaboration without sacrificing employees’ ability to focus are more successful. 3. Choice drives performance and innovation. Employers who provide a spectrum of choices for when and where to work are seen as more innovative and have higher-performing employees.
“New research suggests that the most effective executives use a collection of distinct leadership styles –each in the right measures, at just the right time. Such flexibility is tough to put into action, but it pays off in performance. And better yet, it can be learned.” (Daniel Goleman)
Many managers mistakenly assume that leadership style is a function of personality rather than strategic choice. Instead of choosing the one style that suits their temperament, they should ask which style best addresses the demands of a particular situation.
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Most nonprofits use social media like Facebook and Twitter as an ancillary part of what they do. A few organizations, however, are using these tools to fundamentally change the way they work and increase their social impact
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has been in existence for more than 40 years, with an impressive track record of policy victories and influential corporate partnerships. In 2009, the organization began a new experiment. Under the leadership of Dave Witzel, a veteran social media strategist, EDF launched a network called the Innovation Exchange, focused on bringing together companies interested in sharing ideas and approaches to creating environmentally sustainable businesses.
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A transformational leader not only challenged his people to grow professionally, but also personally — emotionally and intellectually. Working for a transformational leader can be a wonderful and uplifting experience.
Here is the “sheer productivity” at a successful consulting group for product innovation and design
4,000
Number of new ideas generated in a typical year
230
The number of ideas that were thought to be promising enough to work on it
12
The number of ideas that were ultimately developed and successfully sold
0.003 %
The success rate in developing new and “profitable ideas”
Bottom-line: "You can't get any good new ideas without having a lot of dumb, lousy, and crazy ones."
How can companies gain a competitive advantage when their employees’ are focused on changes and productivity is on the decline? Focusing employees on the right activities can reap unsuspected rewards
In the wake of economic uncertainty, many organizations are re-inventing their businesses to not only survive the downturn, but to emerge with a measurable competitive advantage in the recovery. In many companies, products suites are rethought, service identities are unmistakably changed, go-to-market strategies are redesigned for greater efficiency, resources and funding are slashed, and the workforce is restructured for streamlined operations.
For some organizations, these strategic changes in response to the broader economic environment have represented major shifts in the way they do business, while others have experienced more moderate tweaks to their strategy. Yet there are virtually no organizations with the luxury of remaining untouched by the economic turmoil.
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