Change

Peter Senge has written that After Action Reviews (AAR), the subject of today’s Tuesday Reading, are “one of the most successful organizational learning methods yet devised.”   AARs were designed by the Army as a tool to be used after a project or major activity has been completed.  It allows employees and leaders to learn what […]

As we reflect on the impact of Nelson Mandela’s life and his ability to change the world: for the better: “It always seems impossible until it is done.” Nelson Mandela.   Additionally, from BusinessWeek, “The Leadership Lessons of Nelson Mandela” http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/172548-the-leadership-lessons-of-nelson-mandela   Leadership is behavioral, not positional Choose collaboration over retaliation Never give up on […]

This week’s Tuesday Reading “Real Influence,” from the title of Mark Goulston and John Ullmen’s book “Real Influence:  Persuade Without Pushing and Gain Without Giving In,” is a continuation of the reading begun last week.  Goulston is a business psychiatrist, executive coach and cofounder of Heartfelt Leadership.  Ullmen oversees the website MotivationRules.com and teaches at […]

I’ve titled this week’s Tuesday Reading “Real Influence” from the title of Mark Goulston and John Ullmen’s book “Real Influence:  Persuade Without Pushing and Gain Without Giving In.”  Goulston is a business psychiatrist, executive coach and cofounder of Heartfelt Leadership.  Ullmen oversees the website MotivationRules.com and teaches at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.  This reading is […]

Leadership lessons continue to flow from the recent worst-to-first Red Sox season.  Here is a great article from Fast Company on David Ortiz and leadership, “World Series MVP David Ortiz’s Big, Bold, On-the-fly Leadership Lessons“. It’s lessons:   1.  Borrow from other industries.  I.e., the huddle. Video of Papi rallies his teammates in dugout   […]

If there are two things we are passionate about here at MOR its Leadership and the Red Sox.  Congratulations to the Red Sox, the Boston area and to all of Red Sox Nation on our World Series victory! Thomas Kochan, the George Maverick Bunker Professor of Management and co-director of the Institute for Work & Employment Research at MIT’s Sloan School […]

Today’s Tuesday Reading is “Surprises Are the New Normal;  Resilience Is the New Skill,” an essay by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor at the Harvard Business School where she specializes in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change.  The essay appeared in July 2013 in the HBR blog. Kantor introduces the essay with the […]

Great reminder from Harry Kraemer, professor at Kellogg School of Management, on keeping things simple, shared at MOR’s 2012 conference. Video of Keeping Things Simple  

We have all had experiences when we’ve been trying to sell a new idea of strategizing as to whether to invite the critics, the naysayers, the we’ve-tried-that-before colleagues, etc. to discussions we are having to explain and explore our idea or whether we should manage attendance at these discussions to only include individuals who are […]

A tired and stressed out brain hates change.  Change means learning, something new, creating new connections that lead to a new neural network.  And, this doesn’t go well if the brain isn’t ready.  Too often our work lives make it hard for our brain to learn – demands of our jobs and our unhealthy sleeping and eating habits. […]

Among the attributes that all leaders need is confidence – not too much so as to be blinded by benign overly confidence and not too little to feel inadequate. This week’s Tuesday Reading, “To Strengthen Your Confidence, Look To Your Past” <http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/04/to_strengthen_your_confidence.html>, comes from the pens of Amy Jen Su and Muriel Maignan Wilkins.  Su and […]

“Your life doesn’t get better by chance. It gets better by choice.”                                                – Author Unknown Do you hold resentments from your past? Do you tend to blame others for positions that you […]

A key theme of the 2013 MOR IT Leaders Conference was that we are entering a time when disruptive change is the norm. Given that change will happen whether one participates or not, those who actively resist it will hinder their organizations’ progress and imperil their careers.  For the conference participants, the message was clear: […]

It is a fundamental principle that leadership in today’s higher education environment must be collective, concurrent, and collaborative.  To make that happen, campuses need to create, nurture, and sustain communities in which leaders at all levels can be successful. On day three of the 2013 MOR IT Leaders conference, the morning session focused on building […]

Sarah Le Roy, vice president of Talent at Linkage is the author of today’s Tuesday Reading, “Share Your Leadership Vision One Shell at a Time” <http://mylinkage.com/blog/sharpen-your-leadership-vision/>.  In the essay she tells the story of “shelling” with her eight year-old daughter.  As they walked along the beach, Le Roy noted (to herself) that she consistently found better shells […]

All of this year’s conference attendees and all MOR staff members were invited to complete a personal assessment tool called the Strength Deployment Inventory, or SDI for short. It was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the sometimes messy business of engaging with other people who *gasp!* don’t see things exactly as we do. Susan […]

Today, 18 members of MOR converged on Chicago in preparation of MOR’s 6th annual IT Leaders Conference. This year’s theme, “The Leadership Challenge of Disruptive Change,” marks the fifth consecutive year that the conference has focused on change. According to Jim Bruce, one of the founders of the IT Leaders Program and a longtime program […]

Making progress toward a goal increases motivation and performance.  In today’s reading, “3 Motivational Mind Tricks Designed to Power Progress” <http://www.fastcompany.com/3012545/dialed/3-motivational-mind-tricks-designed-to-power-progress>, Janet Choi, Chief Creative Officer of iDoneThis, provides advice on how we can use our mind to power further progress. Choi notes that as you think about a goal, you really need to know where […]

Watch an online learning module of Jim Bruce on the topic of delivering results. Video of MOR Associates Jim Bruce on Results

Today’s Reading is “The One Conversational Tool That Will Make You Better At Absolutely Everything” <http://www.fastcompany.com/3003945/one-conversational-tool-will-make-you-better-absolutely-everything> from the pen of Shane Snow, a New York City-based technology writer and co-founder of Contently.com.  The article first appeared in Fast Company. “Most people are terrible at asking questions.”  We talk too much.  We accept bad answers.  We […]