Was Steve Jobs an Innovator or Just a Tweaker?

Malcolm Gladwell just published a piece in the New Yorker arguing that Steve Jobs did not really invent anything, but merely tweaked and repackaged existing products. Is Gladwell right? Or was Jobs a large-scale visionary and innovator?

What's Wrong With Machiavelli? Rebuilding Your Leadership from the Ground Up.

The current challenges affecting our organizations, economies, and nations are really symptoms: We are facing a leadership crisis. If we are serious about transforming the practice of leadership, we have to go back to its roots: to the hidden assumptions of the current, obsolete leadership model. In fact we have to go way back: 506 years.

TED talk: access to authentic leadership

There are over 70,000 leadership books on Amazon.com that describe and explain leadership. But do they give access to being a leader? I was honored to give a TED talk last month, entitled "Leading Through Language." It has just been uploaded on YouTube. 

"Culture Clash" at Lac Léman Communication Forum 2011

In case you haven't seen this yet...

Watch & Learn:

• An innovative method of mapping cultures across the globe along four fundamental cultural dimensions.
• Why knowing how to bow in Japan or whether to bring wine in Singapore has never lost a cross-border deal, but knowing the eight hidden dimensions of culture is the secret ingredient for success.
• How I prepared for working with the prime minister and cabinet of Kazakhstan (yes, that's right, Kazakhstan of Borat fame) and knew next to nothing about what made them tick; and how doing the right homework got me a standing ovation and customer intimacy.

Lost In Translation: The Hidden Drivers of Culture Clash

Have you heard this one? The bus stops and two Italian men get on. They sit down and engage in an animated conversation.

The lady sitting in front of them ignores them at first, but her attention is galvanized when she hears one of the men say the following: 

Prisoner Swap: An Ethical Dilemma

If all goes as planned, Israeli sergeant Gilad Shalit will be freed by Hamas on Wednesday in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas said it reached 90% of its objectives with the swap, and Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has broad public support for the deal. Others warn that the prisoner swap will only boost terror. It's a classical case of an ethical dilemma.

The Nightmare Boss and Feedback

"No one can make you feel small without your consent," Eleanor Roosevelt once said. Easier said than done, though. Many of us have been at the receiving end of bad feedback. And if we are honest, we may have on occasion given feedback that was less than graceful, let alone empowering. As a cookie break, here are three short videos of worst practices: how not do do it. Enjoy.

Cisco and Microsoft: Handmaidens of Government Surveillance?

Eighteen months after Google pulled its search engine out of China to avoid censorship, Microsoft's Bing still censors searches there. And now Cisco Systems and others are working on a government project in the city of Chongqing, for example, building what will be the biggest police surveillance system in the world. What is right, making concessions to do business in a fast-growing and lucrative market, or foregoing profits in the quest to "do no evil"?

Can (or Should) Tim Cook Replace Steve Jobs?

The day after Steve Jobs resigned as CEO, Apple stocks dropped as much as 7%. Though shares have recovered since, concerns persist whether Jobs' long-time adviser and successor Tim Cook can step into his larger-than-life shoes, despite (or because?) Cook's reassurances that "Apple is not going to change." Can Cook replace Jobs? (Or, for that matter, would he want to?)

What Do Leaders Do All Day?

What do top executives actually do all day? Where do they invest their energies, how do they communicate, what are their roles, their key challenges? A new doctoral dissertation from the School of Management at Leipzig affords a rare glimpse behind the scenes. It is not a pretty picture. Most leaders fail to invest enough time in standing in the future.

Is Workplace Loyalty Dead?

Have the realities of a fast-paced economy—multiple careers, high mobility, freelancing, shortening of contracts, automation and outsourcing—killed off loyalty in the workplace? Or are the bonds between employers and employees just as strong as ever? And if loyalty is waning, what can company leaders do to strengthen their people's allegiance?

Prince Philip: Appalling or Amusing?

Most leaders avoid political incorrectness like the plague, and when they do commit a blunder, they bend over backward to apologize. Not so Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (also known as "Duke of Hazard"), who is famous (or infamous) for saying the very things nobody dares say and offending people at every turn. Is Queen Elizabeth's husband rude, or refreshing, or both?

IBM at 100: What Is the Secret Sauce?

IBM is 100 years old now, in the same year it passes $100 billion in sales. The company that started in 1911 as a merger of four companies named Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. boasts robust profits, products, and services, and its stock market value surpassed Google's. What is the secret of the company's staying power and ability to reinvent itself?

Does Power Turn Men Into Sexual Predators?

"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely," Lord Acton used to say. Were Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Arnold Schwarzenegger (and now Anthony Weiner) seduced by their powerful and patriarchal positions? Or were they predators long before they had their power perks?

Anthony Weiner Quits: "Pervert" or Private Matter?

After weeks of hand-wringing and denials that he would quit, U.S. congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) resigned today over his lewd online exchanges with women constituents. Should Weiner be punished for being a "pervert" as some have put it? Or is his private behavior a matter between him and his wife Huma Abedin, since he has done nothing to break the law?

Doctors vs. Nurses: Communicate or Die

Some 200,000 patients are estimated to die each year because doctors dress down or intimidate nurses, nurses don't speak up, and hospital teams communicate badly, if at all. It's a drastic case of "Communicate or Die." What can be done to improve matters?

Bob Dylan at 70: Is He a Leader?

Bob Dylan is 70. Though his fans' main birthday gifts seem to be scoldings and criticisms, all agree that few people had more innovative influence on 20th-century music. One of the drivers of Dylan's reluctant leadership was the pursuit of what he called his "way home": the holy grail of being truly yourself.

McKinsey Consultant Involved in Billionaire's Insider Trading Scheme

In a rare inside look into the rarefied world of hedge fund dealings, a federal jury in Manhattan has found billionaire investor Raj Rajaratnam guilty of fraud and conspiracy. A juicy and far-reaching detail in the case: Former McKinsey director Anil Kumar (picture) and two other McKinsey consultants helped the Galleon Group founder with stock tips based on insider information. How can such dirty deals by consultants be prevented?

Fukushima: Breaking Through the Rules

When a Japanese worker at the Fukushima nuclear plant ran into a guard who stuck to the rules and refused to improvise, it revealed a lack of flexibility Japan urgently needs to get out of its crisis. Unfortunately Japan is not alone. All too often, companies get attached to rigid plans and cannot adapt to new facts on the ground. 

The Power of Words

"Words are, of course," Rudyard Kipling once wrote, "the most powerful drug used by mankind." The video in this article shows that words can make the difference between a good business and a great business, between mediocre and transcendent leadership, between making small change and making real money. Communication is the best investment; but most of us use language poorly or not at all.

Richard Branson Becomes Stewardess

After losing a bet, Virgin Atlantic founder Richard Branson will have to don a red stewardess uniform and walk down the aisle to offer passengers drinks and food. The British entrepreneur's one-off action should become standard best practice for top managers. 

Can Google Build Better Bosses?

Bosses have a huge influence on people's performance and job satisfaction (meaning whether they stay or leave), so Google has embarked on a bold initiative: to build better managers. "Project Oxygen" applies what Google does best (organizing information) to the unpredictable world of the human element.

Does Facebook Boost or Cost Results?

Some studies say Facebook use reduces workers' productivity (by 1.5%). Others say, on the contrary, a little surfing on social networks can reduce stress and sharpen the mind, and banning them would cost business (up to $8 billion). Who is right? And what is your experience, good or bad?

Breaking Up By SMS: Cowardly or OK?

The definitive guide for appropriate vs. inappropriate behavior in German-speaking Europe has officially ruled that relationships can be ended via SMS. But now its president has come under attack and several board members resigned in protest. Who is right? And what constitutes acceptable communication online?

Social Networks: Constructive or Callous?

Is the Internet helping to disgrace scoundrels, expose scandals, and bring down dictators? Or is it a place of fake intimacy in which innocent people get cyber-mobbed, shamed, and attacked? Probably both. Facebook, Twitter or YouTube are two-faced technologies: fighting cruelty, causing cruelty. Which face will prevail?

Should Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg Resign?

Scandal in Germany: In an unprecedented step, the University of Bayreuth has revoked the doctorate of Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, accusing him of plagiarizing most of his dissertation. Should the popular German defense minister, at under 40 a rising political star in the conservative coalition, tough it out? Or should he take the consequences and resign? 

Wael Ghonim, Google Executive and Revolutionary: A New Type of Leader?

One of the unlikely heroes of Egypt's revolution is Wael Ghonim, Google's head of marketing for the Middle East and North Africa, who sparked the protests through Facebook and Twitter. Is Ghonim a new type of 21st-century leader?

Women at the Top: A Struggle?

In 2008, Siemens was the first company on the DAX 30 index of German blue-chip companies to appoint a woman, Barbara Kux, to its executive board. Do European women executives suffer from a "pipeline leak" or from an "upgrade problem"? And what needs to be done to close the gender gap in European C-level positions?

Google & Twitter Sidestep Egypt's Internet Blockade

Egypt's government has virtually shut down communications among the protesters: The last Internet provider has just been paralyzed. But the opposition is getting unexpected help: Now Google makes it possible for Egyptians to tweet via phone.

The Idiot Factor and Brain Boosters

In my previous post ("New Year, New Habits") I wrote about the quiet power of choosing your regular practices deliberately. Now we go to the next level: Any old practices are not enough. The question is, What practices? Brain research tells us that you have to go beyond your comfort zone and into unknown territory to get performance breakthroughs.

New Year, New Habits

A new year calls for new habits. Habits and routines have a negative connotation; but researchers have found that new habits are good for the brain, innovation, even creativity. Taking stock of your regular practices might raise your leadership game to a new level.