No one seems to agree about the origin of the term “sacred cow.” Before it emerged as an idiom in America in the last 19th century, some believe the term simply described the elevated place of cows in Hinduism. Or, the term could have originated with the legendary hero, Prithu, who assumed the form of […]
Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers Read More »
How can leaders move beyond assigning blame and putting out fires? Start with an arson investigation that includes looking for these early warning signs: 1. An inability among senior leaders to articulate the organization’s strategy Most leaders can explain what they plan to do this week or this quarter, but fewer have the ability to
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Walt Disney started a fire in the entertainment world that continues to burn decades after his death. Perhaps no single figure so dominated American—and indeed, even global—popular culture as Walt Disney did. Each year, millions view a Disney movie, visit his theme parks, watch his television shows, listen to his recordings, buy his products, and
The Saintliness of Burly Sinners Read More »
We create organizational cultures as we go along, sometimes consciously, often unconsciously—but always through decisions. When leaders decide to build a powerhouse of excellence, they start by asking themselves what needs to change and what should stay the same. When companies embrace a change orientation, they consider innovation as part of that culture, not a
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St. Louis Cardinal Matt Holliday makes $17 Million a year. A hot dog vendor at Busch stadium makes a little above minimum wage, or about $10 an hour. A professional baseball player and hot dog vendor both work in the same stadium for the same number of hours addressing the needs of ticket holders. However,
As the Baby Boomers face retirement, the federal government faces the problem of replacing them. Government officials must address the consequences of a bad hire, just as corporate companies do, with one important exception. Firing a civil servant is nearly impossible. That’s why decision makers are once again considering the use of tests, something that
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We’ve all heard the doom and gloom statistics about mergers and acquisition. Even those that don’t move the financials to the wrong side of zero often fail to delight shareholders and stakeholders. Poor evaluation procedures take part of the blame—but only part. A failure to carefully plan for the integration has some culpability too. In
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When companies merge or acquire, stakeholders usually expect that the whole will be greater than the sum of its parts. Unfortunately, the facts tell a different story. One plus one does not equal three, and too often it moves shareholder returns to the wrong side of zero. A once-exceptional organization can quickly take a turn
“Culture,” the new buzzword of the financial recovery, has transformed from an ethereal, abstract otherworldly word to a blunt instrument for finding fault on myriad qualitative matters affecting the organization. When an individual, merger, or organization fails, culture takes the blame. We use the word fairly arbitrarily, citing it to explain why things don’t change,
How Wall Street Should Define Culture Read More »
Media mavens and human resource professionals seem to collaborate periodically to establish, the cliché of the day. For a while it was “That being said.” Before that, it was touching base, doing a deep dive, cascading, at the end of the day, and the bottom line. Now we all need to “start the conversation.” Pick
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