MOR Associates

1.31.06

Blame or Accountability

Is It Blame or Is It Accountability? -- When we seek those

accountable for a particular failure, we risk blaming them instead,

because many of us confuse accountability with blame. What's the

difference between them? How can we keep blame at bay?

Today's reading comes from the Chaco Canyon newsletter. In it Rick

Brenner explores key differences between "accountable" and "blame"

noting, in particular, accountability's focus on organizational learning

and the prevention of future failures.

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12.13.05

Recalcitrant Collaborators

It is very hard to get our work done without collaboration. Sometimes

those collaborators are on our team, sometimes in our organization,

sometimes they are elsewhere in our university, and sometimes they are

outside our university in suppliers, government agencies, etc. When

collaboration occurs things go well.

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11.22.05

Ten Minutes

As all of your know by now, I read a lot from a lot of sources.

Yesterday, a newsletter called Marketplace Moments written by a friend,

Randy Kilgore, reached my desk. It carries a story which I want to

repeat:

"It's December 17, 1941. The citizens of the town of North Platte,

Nebraska heard a rumor that a troop train carrying their sons and

daughters to war would be stopping at the depot in their town for about

ten minutes.

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11.2.05

Mastering Q and A

We all do presentations and after the presentation there is always

questions and answers. While the questions and your answers do not

add all that much content to what you had to say, how you answer

plays into how your audience evaluates you and what you had to say;

presence and presentation again.

Today's -- really yesterday's -- reading is a short piece from a

recent Point Lookout newsletter -- Mastering Q and A.

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10.4.05

FedEx, Flocks, and Frames of Reference

Rick Brenner of Chaco Canyon Consulting here in Boston has a weekly

email newsletter called Point Lookout. I like Rick's writing because

it typically leads you to think about a subject from a different

point of view.

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8.2.05

Marshall Goldsmith: The Skill that Separates

Marshall Goldsmith is one of the country's leading executive coaches.

Today's reading is his column from the July 2005 issue of Fast Company:

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/96/mgoldsmith.html

In this column Goldsmith talks about the importance of being a great

listener.

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7.19.05

Notes from Leadership Jazz

One of my favorite books on leadership is Leadership Jazz by Max DePree.

Max was chairman of the board of Herman Miller for many years.

Leadership Jazz is primarily a set of personal stories about leadership.

I first read the book about 10 years ago and have found that rereading

it as well as a set of notes that I took one time has really been

helpful.

For this weeks reading, I am sending you my notes the book's chapter

on delegation.

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4.20.05

In my reading this week, I found this short piece by John Baldoni. In it he talks about the foundational importance of importance and suggests that you can nurture it by "inviting them to look up," by "letting them see you sweat," by "learning from your mistakes," and by "radiating hope."

Enjoy..............jim

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4.20.05