Category Archives: Social Business

“So she posted her solution online, and then…”

Posted on May 18, 2013 by

If you watch TED talks, you’ll hear this phrase over and over and over again. People who are aspiring to make a difference will share their work online so others can use it and improve on it. Yet it’s a phrase … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Social Business | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A better way to identify and develop talented people

Posted on May 11, 2013 by

One of the biggest tragedies of modern management is our approach to finding and developing talented people. For recruiting, we use top schools and other brokers to identify the talent for us. For people already inside the firm, we construct … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Social Business | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The best innovation program isn’t a program at all

Posted on April 27, 2013 by

Despite 1000s of years of evolution and countless books and studies on human motivation, we’re still using the Innovation Program and it’s cousin, the Suggestion Box, to inspire people to create change. These devices – and the general “let’s offer … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Social Business | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Social media at work. Really?

Posted on April 20, 2013 by

Imagine you’re a salesperson at a big global firm and you’re paid well into 6 figures. You’re at your office, about to call a client, and you want to research her first. Who’s she connected to? Where has she worked … Continue reading →

Posted in Social Business | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Working out loud when you’re looking for a new career

Posted on April 13, 2013 by

Suppose you’re looking to do something new. Maybe you don’t enjoy what you’re doing or you got laid off and want to try something else. What would you do? How would you discover what you like and the relevant opportunities … Continue reading →

Posted in Self awareness and improvement, Social Business, Working out loud | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Working out loud: my own story

Posted on March 16, 2013 by

“You should tell that story more.” I was having lunch with a friend, talking about how I wound up in my current role. I describe my job as “making work more effective and fulfilling”. But there was no such job … Continue reading →

Posted in Self awareness and improvement, Social Business, Working out loud | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Leveraging a 1000-year-old idea at work

Posted on March 9, 2013 by

If you wanted to be a metal-worker 1000 years ago, your best chance was to join a guild, a community of other metal workers from whom you would learn your craft. Today, when you aspire to rise through the ranks … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Social Business | Tagged | 29 Comments

If Yahoo! employees worked out loud…

Posted on March 2, 2013 by

It could have all been avoided. When angry Yahoo! employees leaked an internal memo “asking all employees with work-from-home arrangements to work in Yahoo! offices”, it touched a nerve. Bloggers wrote about CEO Marissa Mayer’s insensitivity and hypocrisy. Other CEOs … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Social Business | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

The best office design for collaboration is also the cheapest

Posted on February 23, 2013 by

Steve Jobs wanted the Pixar headquarters to be a place that “promoted encounters and unplanned collaborations.” He was personally involved in the design details as he was with Apple’s plans for new headquarters. “If a building doesn’t encourage [collaboration], you’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Social Business | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Towards a more humane workplace

Posted on February 16, 2013 by

If you want to mistreat someone, it helps to think of them as something other than human. And so, unfortunately, you’ll notice the same tactics used at work as in some of the greatest atrocities against humanity. Yet there’s hope … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Social Business | Tagged , , , , , , , | 18 Comments