Overled and Undermanaged-From Business Week

By Henry Mintzberg
BW Magazine

Have you heard the word "leadership" lately—say, in the last 10 minutes? How about "management"? Remember that word? Let me suggest that you should, because what we've been calling a financial crisis is actually one of management. Corporate America has had too much of fancy leadership disconnected from plain old management.

How did this happen? It became fashionable some years ago to separate "leaders" from "managers"—you know, distinguishing those who "do the right things" from those who "do things right." It sounds good. But think about how this separation works in practice. U.S. businesses now have too many leaders who are detached from the messy process of managing. So they don't know what's going on.

Read the entire article: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_33/b4143068890733.htm

The Square Watermelon

Japanese grocery stores had a problem. They are much smaller than their US counterparts and therefore don’t have room to waste. Watermelons, big and round, wasted a lot of space. Most people would simply tell the grocery stores that watermelons grow round and there is nothing that can be done about it. But some Japanese farmers took a different approach. ”If the supermarkets want a space efficient watermelon,” they asked themselves, “How can we provide one?” It wasn’t long before they invented the square watermelon.

The solution to the problem of round watermelons wasn’t nearly as difficult to solve for those who didn’t assume the problem was impossible to begin with and simply asked how it could be done. It turns out that all you need to do is place them into a square box when they are growing and the watermelon will take on the shape of the box.

Read the complete Article: http://www.hardknoxlife.com/2008/06/18/lessons-of-the-square-watermelon/

Favorite Quotes

1. Opportunity is missed by most people, because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Thomas Edison

2. If three people call you an ass, buy a bridle.

Spanish Proverb

3. The man who complained about how the ball bounces is usually the one who dropped it.

Lou Holtz

4. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him much will be required.

Luke 12:48

5. It is not by whining that one carries out the job of the leader.

Napolean I

6. Great people are those who make others feel that they, too, can become great.
Mark Twain

7. Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
General George S. Patton

8. I have as much authority as the Pope, there’s just not as many people who believe it.
George Carlin

9. Although your customers won’t love you if you give bad service, your competitors will.
Kate Zabriskie

10. Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.
Bill Watterson

Improving Innovation

Some simple and straight-forward methods to stimulate creative thought and innovation from the Soaring Eagle Enterprises' training program Innovation and Creativity:

Self Manage Your Thoughts
Remove Doubt
Initially Ignore Roadblocks and Risks

Modify Habits and Routines
Change Hours
Change Driving Route
Modify Schedules and Task Routine

Improve Working and Thinking Environment
Comfortable Seating and Working Environment
Use Natural Light
Avoid Harsh Light
Listen to Music
Avoid Mind Numbing Activities (Television and Internet)
Be Comfortable
Comfortable Clothes
Eat Well

Seek Inspiration
Read and Understand Other Creative People
See Where Others Saw Innovation Opportunities

Stimulate Your Physical Side
Exercise
Go Outside

Deloitte Poll-Accidental Innovation and Other Findings

Business leaders also wrangle over cost reduction or investing in innovation in the 'Innovation Can Wait - or Can It?' Deloitte Debate

NEW YORK, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new Deloitte online poll, 31 percent of executives surveyed believe innovation happens by accident at their company. Meanwhile, only 25 percent of respondents say their companies encourage innovation as a mandate.

"Companies need to build innovation into their DNA instead of relying on chance," said Mark White, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and moderator of the webcast. "Bad times in the economy present opportunities for organizations to refocus on innovation as a difference maker to driving their business performance and being in the best possible position to deliver results. That is why in Silicon Valley cycles of recession are cycles of innovation. Web 2.0 and semiconductors were churned during a recession."

The survey was conducted during a Deloitte July webcast titled, "Vicious Circle or Virtuous Cycle? The Balancing Act Between the Mandate to Innovate and Pressure to Optimize." With more than 450 respondents participating, only 14 percent said innovation is clearly defined within their organization, compared to more than 67 percent who said innovation is either very loosely defined or tackled project to project.

Doug Standley, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP, believed the reason for some of these polling results is because most major companies are not organized around innovation. "Companies clearly need direction and a more focused approach to innovation as a basic fundamental building block for success. When only six percent of the respondents say that innovation in their company is funded as a separate entity, there can be a disconnect between innovation and how it impacts a company's performance."

Additional polling results during the Deloitte web cast included:

Approximately 12 percent of the respondents reported the word innovation is not applicable in their company's structure.
Innovation financed via "off the book" funding was reported by seven percent of respondents.
Almost 40 percent of respondents claimed innovation is handled project-to-project.

Dr. John Kao, chairman and founder of the Institute for Large Scale Innovation and a senior advisor on innovation to Deloitte, also recommended the following foundations for success to the executives in spurring innovation:

Develop and communicate a clear organizational narrative of what innovation is, the business purpose it serves and how it relates to organizational vision.

Create platforms, practices and funding pathways to support the work of disruptive innovation.
Link the work of innovation to strategy processes within the firm that illuminate future trends and latent customer needs.

To listen to an archived version of the webcast please visit: www.deloitte.com/us/dbriefs/futurete.

Kao also noted in the latest Deloitte Debate, "Innovation Can Wait -- or Can It?" that business leaders are asking themselves whether they should they stay focused on cost reduction, or is now the time to push even harder for innovation? "In many ways, the choice between cost reduction and innovation is a false one," said Kao. "You can do both at the same time and technology can play a big role in making it work. Just do not substitute innovate technology for the process of innovation itself."

To view Kao's points and counterpoints around these issues, as well as additional perspectives from the public and human capital sectors, please go to www.deloitte.com/us/Debates/InnovationNowOrLater

This topic is one in a series of Deloitte Debates that examine today's pressing business issues from multiple perspectives. New debate topics are added weekly. For a full library of Debates, please visit www.deloitte.com/debates.

About the Polling
The polling responses came from more than 450 business professionals ranging from chief technology officer to consultant across multiple industries who responded to survey questions during Deloitte's July 9 webcast.

Lack of Trust Between Staff and Management from Training Journal

Worker morale in the UK is at an all-time low as a result of redundancies and a lack of trust in senior management, according to research published today.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) survey of 3,000 employees found eight in ten believe senior managers need to work on restoring and improving trust in their leadership.

And the research found more than half of employees believed frequent and honest communication would improve trust in organisations but only a quarter said they were consulted by senior managers on important decisions.

Read the Entire Article: http://www.trainingjournal.com/news/2360.html

Managers Must Practice People Skills-From Training Journal

Managers who are expecting employees to “weather the storm no matter how poorly they are managed” must think again, according to the latest research.

A study by Krauthammer of employees across Europe has revealed that their commitment to their organisations is “worryingly low” and their job satisfaction is “fragile”.

And the coaching, training and consulting company is urging managers to take basic skills like listening to their staff and identifying their talent seriously.

“Senior managers especially should beware of paying lip service to crucial behaviours such as listening to their staff, while dismissing them as ‘too basic’ or by assuming an air of ‘I left all that behind me when I was a junior’,” said Ronald Meijers, co-chairman of Krauthammer’s executive board.

Read the entire article: http://www.trainingjournal.com/news/2368.html

Leadership from Soaring Eagle Enterprises

MSN Money-43 Things Heard in Interviews

"I'm not wanted in this state."
"How many young women work here?"
"I didn't steal it; I just borrowed it."
"You touch somebody and they call it sexual harassment!"
"I've never heard such a stupid question."

Believe it or not, the above statements weren't overheard in bars or random conversations -- they were said in job interviews.

Maybe you were nervous, you thought the employer would appreciate your honesty, or maybe you just have no boundaries. Whatever the reason, you can be certain that you shouldn't tell an interviewer that it's probably best if he doesn't do a background check on you. (And yes, the hiring manager remembered you said that.)

We asked hiring managers to share the craziest things they've heard from applicants in an interview. Some are laugh-out-loud hysterical, others are jaw-dropping -- the majority are both. They will relieve anyone who has ever said something unfortunate at a job interview -- and simply amuse the rest of you.

Read the Rest At: http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1946-Interviewing-You-Said-What/?sc_extcmp=JS_1946_spotlight&SiteId=cbmsnsl41946&ArticleID=1946&gt1=23000&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=8176e95319f24cd09bbd03e43c921a73-302631151-VJ-4&pf=true