Tag Archives: Organizations

Know Which Strategy Style Is Right for Your Organization

Posted on

written by Martin Reeves

Companies that correctly match their strategy-making processes to the competitive circumstances of their industry, business function, or geographic markets perform better than those that don’t. But, as I discussed my last post, far too many lack a systematic way to do so. In that post I explained how choosing a strategy for setting strategy required asking two questions about your situation:  How unpredictable is your environment? How much power do you or others have to change that environment? The answers give rise to four styles for executing strategy: classical, adaptive, shaping, and visionary. Continue reading →

Deconstructing Executive Presence

Posted on

written by John Beeson

If you ask a group of managers who aspire to the C-suite what it takes to get there, they’ll invariably mention executive presence, but they aren’t always so clear about what it means. Not too long ago I conducted a series of off-the-record interviews with senior executives responsible for executive placement in their organizations. I asked them about the “make or break” factors they consider in making C-suite promotion decisions. Executive presence was one of the handful of decision criteria they cited, but even these experienced executives struggled to define what it is and why one person has it and another doesn’t. In an increasingly diverse world where senior executives are no longer all 6 foot 2 inch tall males who look they were sent from central casting, what does it take to create a commanding executive presence? The right clothes? A firm handshake? Those matter, but they don’t tell the whole story. Continue reading →

Dealing with a Bad Boss

Posted on

Written by John Beeson

It’s often said there’s nothing certain in life except death and taxes. The parallel in organizational life is that at some point in your career you’ll have a bad boss — or at least a boss who’s bad for you. Bad bosses come in all shapes and sizes: abrasive and insensitive, indecisive, inconsistent and unfair, the micromanager who stifles your ability to perform and grow, and “matador managers” adept at sidestepping every tough issue that comes their way. So, the question isn’t whether or not you’ll have a bad boss. Rather, it’s how you’ll respond when you do. Continue reading →

How To Win The Talent War

Posted on

Written by Jon Stein

I once hired a developer who had more experience in his field than I did in mine. His resume touted roles at companies I one day hope to emulate, and his Rolodex read like a who’s who of tech startups. I was excited by the possibilities of having someone like this on our team, and I anticipated a long and rewarding career for him at our company.
No doubt he was talented–but the sad reality was that he had no genuine interest in building the company I envisioned. He stayed with us less than six months.
When hiring for roles like this at Betterment.com, the investing startup I founded two years ago, I soon learned the formula for a successful startup. It’s simple: create a product that people need, and hire ridiculously talented, highly motivated people to build it. Continue reading →

Relationship-Building… Key to Your Success as a CIO

Posted on

Written by Robert Liley. He is a Principal in The Signal Group, a Vancouver-based management consulting firm. Over the years, he has counseled several successful CIOs, as well as having been one himself. For more on this subject, or to purchase a copy of his guide ‘The CIO’s Executive Handbook’ please visit his web site at www.theciohandbook.com.

The role of the CIO is rapidly changing. Are you ready to meet the increasing demands of this new role? Before you answer this question, we need to first understand the nature of this evolution and the factors that are driving it. In my view, it’s being driven by a significant change in expectations on the part of the CEO and the rest of the Executive Team with respect to the CIO. This has been stimulated by the role that information technology is now beginning to play in enabling fundamental business operations and creating competitive advantage, something that has only recently begun to appear on the radar screens of many executives.  And this, in turn, is being fueled by the continuing rapid advances in information technology which make possible so many of the changes that are impacting the way that societies and organizations work, essentially across the world.  Just ask the Tunisians or the Egyptians about the impact these new technologies can have. The problem, of course, is that many CIOs are not yet prepared to meet the emerging expectations, even if they understood them. Why is this?        Continue reading →