There has been no dearth of words like “fear,” “scare,” and “panic” in the headlines of lead stories inthe past two weeks, fueled by the manic swings of Wall Street and the overall malaise of the economy. Fear can be crippling if not deadly, especially if the public fear creeps into the business atmosphere inside companies. Sad but true, the fear of loss and missed expectations can lead to instability and incredibly harmful business behavior. …
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The Questions We Ask
Aristotle said, “All men by nature desire to know.” Upon reflection (hey, I’m in a reflective state this evening), I think what he was talking about may go beyond simple curiosity. Here’s my thinking. We all live our lives in constant and continuous pursuit of answers to questions. Some drive us to complete the day, like: What are my deadlines? What are my obligations? What are my goals? And while we are generally successful in …
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Boost Your Brain And Give It A Break–At The Same Time
Executives at GE, 3M, Bloomberg Media, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and Salesforce.com do it. Google teaches a course in it at Google University. Ford chairman William Ford does it, as do former corporate chiefs Bill George of Medtronic and Bob Shapiro of Monsanto. Phil Jackson and Tiger Woods do it. Oracle chief Larry Ellison does it and asks his executives to do it several times a day. Chip Conley, founder of Joie de Vivre hotels …
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The Power of Small Wins: Interview with Teresa Amabile
Earlier this week I reviewed a fascinating new book called The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, by Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer, two of the foremost authorities on creativity in business. I had the chance to ask Teresa a few questions about progress, small wins, and creativity. Q: Why is creativity in business an issue in the first place? A: Some people believe that “creativity in business” …
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The Progress Principle
From time to time, I teach an advanced elective course called “Creativity & Innovation in Organizations” to second-year MBA students attending Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Business in Malibu, California. One of the things I require of my students is to start a daily “creativity journal.” I give daily exercises and activities, but more importantly I ask them document events that trigger or stifle their creativity, along with their thoughts and feelings about that event. …
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What a Nutrition Expert Can Teach You About Business
A few weeks ago I went to see a nutritionist–Dr. Philip Goglia, who has been a featured expert on shows such as The Doctors and Dr. Phil–for several reasons. First, I liked the results I was seeing in a tennis partner in terms of fat loss, fitness and overall performance. Second, I wasn’t entirely happy with my own physique or performance. I felt like I should be in better shape, be faster and have more …
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