by Ian Smith | Apr 4, 2018 | Leadership
You may not have heard of Simon Sinek, ex-professor of strategic communications at Columbia University, who is better known to a wider global audience for his talks at TED conferences. His talk “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” has had over 37 million...
by Ian Smith | Mar 25, 2018 | Execution Tips, Leadership, Strategy
Why do so some companies win and others fail? How is it possible for a new management team to transform the performance of a business? What is the essential difference between winners and losers? In a previous post a few years ago I emphasized the importance of...
by Ian Smith | Jan 22, 2018 | Leadership
We all admire a leader who can simplify a complex problem into an understandable, simple, explanation of the essential elements. We are motivated by the leader who can set out a clear, concise solution to a complex problem. Ultimately, in the best companies this leads...
by Ian Smith | Dec 11, 2017 | Leadership
I confess I find my own practical experience matches most of the social science research on why people come to work – as described in Daniel Pink’s Book Drive. Daniel’s book spotlights the big three as mastery, autonomy, purpose. I’ve added...
by Ian Smith | Sep 5, 2017 | Leadership
There was a great little article tucked away in the WSJ a few weeks ago. It’s worth summarizing the gist of it and unpacking for a few learning thoughts. Mozilla (maker of Firefox web browser) had a problem – how to fix bugs in its bug-fixing process....
by Ian Smith | Aug 7, 2017 | Leadership
I was reviewing the details of a large group the other day. The usual headlines, their overall sales and profits, their positioning on their website, org chart, blog posts, just getting a feel for their story. Of course I was looking at their “Net”...
