Monthly Archives: November 2010

(Larry Prusak, Brook Manville, and Tom Davenport are at work on a book on judgment and how to cultivate it as an organizational, not just individual, strength. Over the next few months, we’ll each be authoring posts in this blog … Continue reading →

Consider the following qualities: Confident Humble Courageous Prudent Tenacious Gentle Honest Compassionate Decisive Flexible Disciplined Playful Strong Vulnerable Deliberate Spontaneous Discerning Intuitive Outgoing Introspective Which quality do you value more in each pair? Is there any doubt that most of … Continue reading →

Another day, another set of high-profile worries about how Google is going to persuade its best and brightest people from leaving the company to join newer outfits or launch companies of their own. A few weeks ago, Silicon Valley was … Continue reading →

After an intense innovation workshop, the CTO of a globally-successful Chinese electronics supplier approached, unhappily. “You emphasize the importance of collaborating with your customers to innovate,” he moaned, “but our best customers don’t want to collaborate. They just want us … Continue reading →

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is getting his way and Cathleen Black will take over from Joel Klein as Chancellor of New York City Schools. Ms. Black has no management experience in education — her entire career has been spent in magazine … Continue reading →

In my last blog, I shared with you one of my partner’s sayings that he learned from his uncle, “play stupid, and win smart.” His uncle was a skilled poker player with an uncanny ability to hide his emotions. Other … Continue reading →

Most of us believe that speedy decision-making is critical for success today, and dub its absence as procrastination or managerial dithering. However, by focusing on how quickly we make decisions, are we abandoning the need to listen, discuss, evaluate, and … Continue reading →

I’m always amazed when I hear about smart, talented people going to their supervisors to ask for guidance using phrases like, “What do you think I should do?” Or, “How should I…?” Let’s assume that you’ve gotten to where you … Continue reading →

This year’s holiday shopping season improved somewhat over last year with sales likely to top $11 billion. Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving — was accompanied by blaring ads for everything from linens to jeans. You could go to … Continue reading →

Once upon a time, there was a country where bankers disappeared. The bankers, fed up with regulation, dissatisfaction, and downright hostility, decided to unleash the planet-destroying superweapon in their arsenal: they went on strike, not once, but three times. Here’s … Continue reading →