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Traditional strategic planning works for building a house or the sewage system of Mumbai, but it is obsolete for at least 5 reasons.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.