"Leading Leaders": Your Holiday Gift

I hope you've had a great year: productive, meaningful, full of valuable learning. As a token of my gratitude to 37,000+ loyal readers, please accept a year-end gift: my latest book Leading Leaders: The Art & Science of Boosting Return on People (ROP). May this small book help you (and your people) achieve your (and their) boldest dreams this coming year. 

$140+ Million Bribes: How to Hold Blatter & Co. Accountable?

The biggest corruption scandal in sports history just got bigger when BBC Television disclosed evidence that FIFA officials had taken $100 million in bribes. How can Sepp Blatter and his cronies be held accountable for their Qatar (rhymes with "gutter") politics?

From Starbucks to Barbucks: A Venti Chardonnay, Anyone?

Hard hit by the recession, lagging sales, and fast-food competitors at its heels, the coffee giant is testing a new approach: Sell local wine and beer. Will the scheme help open new markets and revive sales, or will it turn off core customers?

Craziest Campaign Speech Ever?

Phil Davidson really wants to be the treasurer of Stark County, Ohio. Really. It's a textbook case of how not to speak to your audience. What could Davidson (and ultimately all of us) learn from Martin Luther King's ¨I Have a Dream¨ speech? The Do's and Don'ts of passionate speaking.

Eliot Spitzer: Sinner Recovers With Own TV Show

In 2008, then-New York governor Eliot Spitzer was brought down by his trysts with high-priced callgirl Ashley Dupre after pledging a new era of morality and clean government. This week, he launched his own television talk show. Is the former ¨Client 9¨ entitled to his comeback? 

Is HP ¨Vindictive¨ or Right to Sue?

Mark Hurd continues to catalyze conflict. HP ousted Hurd amid allegations of sexual harassment. Now it is suing him for violating his non-compete agreement when he signed on with competitor Oracle. Oracle's Larry Ellison calls HP's lawsuit against its fired ex-chief ¨vindictive.¨ Who is right?

Million-Dollar Whistleblower Rewards: Good or Bad?

Through a new reward program for whistleblowers, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission offers multi-million-dollar payments for reporting fraud. Innovative crime-fighting program or state-sponsored bounty for disloyal employees? 

Bibi Aisha: Face of Afghan Culture Clash or ¨War Porn¨?

Is the disfigured face of the 19-year-old Bibi Aisha on the cover of Time magazine a symbol of what happens if the United States abandons Afghanistan, or the latest case of manipulative media ¨war porn¨? 

Toyota: Guilty or Innocent?

The U.S. Department of Transportation blames the spate of recent crashes not on the automaker but on driver error. Does that let Toyota off the hook?

Burqa Ban in France: Right or Wrong?

In the latest culture clash, France's lower house of parliament this week voted 335:1 to ban the burqa-style Islamic veil in public. The debate rages across Europe: Are such bans good or bad?

Crowdsourcing: In Search of Your Leadership

Crowdsourcing is an increasingly well-known method for getting ¨crowds¨ to ¨source¨ solutions to a business problem. It beats top-down strategy hands-down. The question that nobody asks is, Could crowdsourcing serve to generate leaders? 

Roger Federer and Anger Management

In the first round at Wimbledon, Roger Federer narrowly escaped a historic defeat, not least through anger management. Few people remember how the champion learned to regulate the temper tantrums of his junior days.

BP Chief in Perfect Storm: Root Cause Was Stupid Strategy

BP chief Tony Hayward is in the hot seat. But things went wrong much before the ¨Deepwater Horizon¨ oil spill. The root cause of the crisis is an outdated strategy approach.

The 2010 World Cup: A Laboratory of One World or Culture Clash?

The 2010 World Cup is a great chance to learn about national cultures and how they play out in football/soccer. Because the World Cup is one event where globalization comes alive. And where cultures clash, sometimes in hilarious ways.

Time to Abolish Performance Reviews?

New research shows that one of the greatest sources of stress is the annual performance review. Under the guise of ¨constructive criticism,¨ evaluations can be used by bad bosses to dominate and undermine workers; they can instill fear; and they might end up making people less effective. Should companies do away with workplace evaluations?

Foxconn Suicides Just Tip of the Iceberg: Why 55% of Workers Are Stressed Out

The wave of suicides at China's Foxconn is the latest and most alarming result of rising workplace stress. But elsewhere too, the global crisis seems to have taken a toll on workers' emotional well-being; the threat of losing your job or home or financial stability is deeply unsettling. Now researchers have found at least two other causes of stress.

What is the future of MBA education?

Business schools are at a crossroads. For 50 years they have focused on analytical skills, models, and statistics. But if the global economic crisis did not make it clear, its aftermath makes it painfully obvious: The existing MBA curriculum is insufficient for the challenges of the 21st century.

Papal Pressure in Portugal Over Gay Marriage

The Pope today spoke out in Portugal against a planned same-sex marriage law. Instead of pressuring governments on their policies, here are three steps the leader of the Catholic church could take to break the church's conspiracy of silence.

The 9 Keys to Powerful Feedback

A key competency of a leader is giving effective feedback. If a colleague riles you up, how can you give feedback in a way that leads not to World War III but to a mutually acceptable solution?

100-Day Catalytic Projects for Quick Strategic Wins

Mahatma Gandhi once famously said, ¨We must be the change we wish to see in the world.¨ How can leaders integrate strategy and action? By designing catalytic pilots that embody the future - on a low-cost and low-risk scale. 

Why Traditional Planning Is Bankrupt and What to Do

Traditional strategic planning works for building a house or the sewage system of Mumbai, but it is obsolete for at least 5 reasons. How can you end the divorce of strategy and action, stop treating people like objects, and end business-as-usual?

The 10 Most Costly Sins When Working Across Borders

Culture clashes can lead to serious strategic fiascos, as when Microsoft wanted to launch Windows95 in China. Here are the ten most costly sins committed by ethnocentric managers. 

Coaching Without Demand Is Just Noise

Since soldiers in Baghdad (or the company's frontline people) have intelligence just as vital as the ideas in the Pentagon (or the boardroom), coaching has become an essential competence in all organizations. But how do you make sure your people want your coaching?

Six Steps When Vision Goes Out the Window

Already the bible said that ¨Where there is no vision, people perish¨ (Proverbs 29:18). But when the future is crowded out by current demands, day-to-day pressures and the relentless onslaught of email, how do you get it back?

Rumor and Gossip: Deadly Sins

Some may think gossip is a healthy way of dealing with uncertainty, but gossip and rumors are deadly for teams and organizations. Here is what you can do to stop the idle chatter at the water cooler. 

The Art of Listening: A Win-Win Strategy (By Michalya Schonwald)

Great salespeople know that talking up your product does not sell. What sells is asking questions and letting the customer talk. It's the same for leaders: Those with an expanded listening repertoire take charge of the conversation and get better results with less effort. 

The Power of Relationship (By Klaas van der Horst)

As Klaas van der Horst learned the hard way in New York and London, and in his own family, building and cultivating relationships makes the difference between mediocre and great leadership, and between deal and no deal.