Tag Archives: Careers

Leadership Is Not a Solitary Task

Posted on

by John Coleman

 

 

An inspiring historical story is once again making the rounds at least partially because of its inclusion in Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, David and Goliath. In it, Gladwell tells the story of the French town of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, which became a safe haven for Jews in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Led by minister André Trocmé, the residents of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon saved between 3,000 and 3,500 Jews (in addition to others seeking refuge) from 1940 until the end of the war, bringing them into the community and hiding them from French and Nazi officials. By any measure, their actions were courageous and inspiring. They were also an example of the power of community in leadership. Continue reading →

How Business Can Help Measure Education Outcomes that Matter

Posted on

80-kantrowby Alan Kantrow

Employers the world over tell us that what truly counts in hiring decisions is not the rote knowledge that helps college students answer examination questions, but skills and competencies that are essential for, and often developed at, work.  To be useful, the bricks of modern education need the straw of experience-based skills.  Bricks without straw tend to crumble; they cannot support weight, as has been known from Biblical times. Continue reading →

Motivating People to Perform at Their Peak

Posted on

80-art-markman  by Art Markman

 

Almost all decisions, big and small, are choices between exploring new possibilities and exploiting old ones. When you explore, you select an option that’s unknown—or reexamine one that wasn’t optimal in the past to get new information about it. When you exploit, you choose something that’s yielded good results before, believing it will do so again.

Of course, the known course is safer. But if the newer, riskier one works out, chances are it will also pay off more handsomely. Continue reading →

Would You Play Golf on a Weekday Afternoon?

Posted on

80-karen-firestoneby Karen Firestone

Last summer, I was invited by a few friends to meet at 4 o’clock on a weekday to play a few holes of golf on a sunny afternoon.   As I got out of my car, a guy I know waved and said, “Hey, great to see you, but don’t you still work?”  (Yes.) Over on the driving range, another man I’ve known for years, came by and said, “So, you’ve finally decided to retire?”   (No.)

Since this was the first time in memory that I had left the office early (and it wasn’t even that early) for a fun activity, I wasn’t used to these questions. I realized, of course, that both men were professionals, as were most people on the golf course that weekday afternoon, and no one was asking them if they still were employed.  So why did they ask me? Continue reading →