There are many frequently debated but ultimately unanswerable questions such as leader vs manager and strategy vs execution. One that gets less attention – but is just as important – is the question: rules or standards? In law, the distinction is clear and the choice is somewhat obvious. Rules differentiate legal from illegal behavior, hopefully…
The benefits of having a mentor are well known and well documented, ranging from increased self-confidence to more promotions and higher pay. This is especially true when mentorship turns into sponsorship. But what about the benefits of an anti-mentor? A strong mentor provides guidance and advice to a less experienced and usually younger person, often…
Over the weekend, a senior manager at another company challenged me as to whether he really had to be digitally proficient. He went on to explain he had hired an intern for his social media presence and a personal online shopper for his clothes. He had an IT person to keep his smart phone up-to-date…
When the U.S. Navy chose Mike Abrashoff to become Commander of USS Benfold, the challenges which faced him were seemingly overwhelming. At the time, the Benfold was one of the worst-performing ships in the Navy; a “dysfunctional ship with a sullen crew that resented being there and could not wait to get out of the Navy.”…
It’s the time of year when New Year’s resolutions are all around us. In a quick news search, I found more than 100 articles published in the last week alone. Apparently we’ve all resolved to write about resolutions. New Year’s resolutions are especially tough because they are usually set only once per year and have…
With the arrival of the holiday season comes the inevitable onslaught of television classics, including A Christmas Carol and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. While each are good movies in their own right, I wonder if the latter became a holiday staple largely based on the sheer number of times it has aired. Familiarity breeds…
More than six years ago, I created a wordle of my 10 most popular blog posts. Back then, word clouds were relatively new and I thought it was an interesting way to explore what I had been writing about. Some words were expected – performance, scorecard, objectives, strategy, metrics. Others were a bit more surprising –…
You can’t polish a sneaker I was 30 mins into an incredibly boring presentation when that phrase caught my attention. It’s catchy, I thought, but what the heck does it mean? A little Internet sleuthing unearthed that the line is from the Unwritten Rules of Management, by William Swanson, former Chairman and CEO of Raytheon. Apparently,…
It has become an annual traditional here at MBWA to do a short assessment of how my blog has done in the past year. Unfortunately, most of the available statistics are classic ego metrics but I can usually dig out a few interesting conclusions. In last year’s assessment, I even managed to channel Jay-Z. This…
I believe every manager is a member of three teams: The people that report to that manager. This is usually what someone means when they refer to “my team.” The external stakeholders in other departments they work with every day. For example, marketing is often considered part of the extended team for sales or development. Their peers…