The report is 500 pages long and details more than 100 conclusions including that intelligence estimates of Iraqi weapons programs were “either overstated or were not supported by the underlying intelligence reporting.” The report essentially outlines a blunder of groupthink in reaching the unwarranted conclusion that Iraq was actively pursuing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons […]
Strategies of Effective New Product Team Leaders
Article from the California Management Review; Winter 2000; 42, 2 Important characteristics of effective team leaders: Communication: both intra-personal and inter-personal as well as intra-organization and extra-organizational. A clear communication of expectations to team members, and a facilitation of communication between group members as well as outside the team. An information-rich environment is essential. Responsibility: […]
A Mentor’s Advice: Timeless!
I recently wrote a guest post for Mary Jo Asmus’ Aspire Collaborative Services Blog. It can be found here: http://www.aspire-cs.com/a-mentors-advice-timeless
HBS: Sins of Commission: Be Careful What You Pay For, You May Get It
Commentary on a Harvard Business School Case Study about Extrinsic Motivators: specifically monetary compensation. People sometimes do exactly what they’re paid to do, oftentimes to the detriment of company goals, such as the top line, getting new customers and retaining existing customers, as evidenced by the example of a car salesperson turning away a potential […]
HBS: Compensation and Performance Evaluation at Arrow Electronics
This post is a commentary on a Harvard Business School Case Study about performance evaluations at Arrow Electronics. On a quick, personal, third-degree-of-separation type of note: while I have no inside knowledge of Arrow Electronics, I have had the pleasure of designing their facility here in Reno, Nevada. The Case study indicates that, at the […]
Commentary on a Wall Street Journal Article: ‘Get Rid of the Performance Review!’
From the October 20, 2008 Issue an article by Samuel A. Culbert, PhD, Professor of management at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. In this article, Dr. Culbert lays out a compelling and thought-provoking case for abolishment of the traditional performance review and replacement with a performance preview. He makes 6 good points in his […]
Graduate School of Business, Stanford University Case Study: SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry
The storyline for this case study goes that the SAS Institute was facing increasing competition, etc. and the question was: “Could and should the Institute maintain its unique approach to pay and other practices?” Had their success been a product of their approach or achieved in spite of their approach? Attraction and retention of talent […]
Harvard Business School Case Study: Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks?
The story of Nordstrom is one of a classic conflict between two competing business philosophies: 1) That one needs to do whatever is necessary to be effective and make the sale because business depends on it and 2) That employees should be able to work their scheduled hours, leave the job behind when they punch […]
Harvard Business School Case Study: Specialty Medical Chemicals
Specialty Medical Chemicals (SMC) is a specialty chemical company serving the pharmaceutical industry. In the case study, the company was plagued by poor growth performance and brought in a new CEO, Carl Burke, to ostensibly rekindle growth. Upon studying the company, Burke ascertained that the real task which lay before him was not revamping growth, […]
Commentary on a few news articles from the perspective of workplace motivation
From a Wall Street Journal article (Two Football Coaches Have a Lot to Teach Screaming Managers, January 29, 2007; Page B1), a Business Week article (Get Healthy—Or Else, Inside one company’s all-out attack on medical costs, Business Week, 2/26/2007) and a U.S. News and World Report article (Jesica’s Story: One mistake didn’t kill her–the organ donor system […]