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Rules to Violate to Become an Effective Leader

    Rules are something we have to deal with all our lives. We are forever being admonished that the only way forward is to follow. If we don’t follow the rules, we are reprimanded with the equivalent of personal fire and brimstone. Despite this, there are times (more times than you might imagine) when breaking the rules is the best path to success. This is especially true when it comes to rules that rule your activities and future in the corporate world. Over time, corporate rules have become more about containment and control than accomplishment and achievement. Follow these rules at your own risk. The trick is to know why, when and how to break rules that should be broken.     To Become An Effective Leader – Make Your Own Rules We could pick a passel of questionable rules from virtually any endeavor, but for this discussion let’s assume that you have a desire to become an effective corporate leader. What are some of the established and accepted corporate rules and mores that
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What Does Benjamin Franklin Have to do With the Current Political Environment?

  Like me, are you disenchanted with and discouraged by the body politic of our country now? Are you weary of the self-serving conniving machinations exhibited by the political leaders of both parties? Are you frustrated that we can’t seem to come together and agree on any idea or action that will impact the future of our country in a positive way? Does it feel like this is something new that is causing our once unified country to come apart at the seams, spawning what seems to be a bleak future? If so, think again. As published in “American History” magazine, here is an excerpt from a letter written by Benjamin Franklin to a friend in France, just after participating in the Constitutional Convention of 1787. It seems as though Franklin could be living today when he wrote: “We must not expect that our new government may be formed as a game of chess played by a skillful hand, without fault. The players of our game are so many, their ideas so different, their prejudices so strong and so
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Loyalty: A Lost "Best Practice" In Business

  One of the most often espoused strategies in business management is called “best practices.” The hypothesis of “best practices” is if the executives of a company research, understand and then mimic the “best practices” of their most successful competitors, then their own success will be assured and come with less effort. In reality, fealty to the idea of studying and copying the “best practices” of the competition is, for a variety of reasons, often more destructive than constructive. But that does not stop many from pushing the idea as a panacea for management. Some business consulting firms even specialize in the area of “best practices” and offer ready-made templates to standardize business processes. These templates are sold as a map for management to adopt the best practices of other companies and they encompass virtually every process and procedure of the company. The allure of adopting a “best practices” management strategy is obvious, but the efficacy of this approach i
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Successful Business Leadership: What Does Trust Have To Do With It?

Trust is the most underrated aspect of the relationship between a business leader and subordinates. The presence of trust in a business relationship makes almost any objective possible. The absence of trust corrodes any business affiliation and erodes the power of the leader until nothing is possible. Trust in a business relationship is different than trust in a marriage or the trust we place in a pilot when we board an airline. I would even differentiate the concept of business trust from the idea of ethics. Not that trust can be built without being ethical, but in the context here trust has a different nuance. Creating an Environment of Trust Trust in a business relationship is about many things, but mostly it is about being consistent with those with whom we deal with. The secret to building business trust is to be the same today as you were yesterday and will be tomorrow. Trust is engendered when others can count on what the leader says as being the same as what the leader do
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The Greatest Threat To Success Is Success

  Behind every success story – be it individual, career, entrepreneurial or corporate – is a remarkable story of dedication, resilience, yeoman effort and even a bit of luck. Success is never bequeathed by aspiration, but it is almost always achieved as a result of continuous concerted effort.   There is no better feeling than the feeling of success achieved after a long, hard, honest effort. In a way, achieving success, in any form, is your way of making history. However, it’s important to recognize that achieving the desired success is not the end of the road, but only a sign that you are on the right road.   The funny thing about success is that as difficult as it is to achieve, it takes even more focus and commitment to sustain it. Success is not self-sustaining. Success is only preserved by building on it, not resting on it. In fact, success has its own way of weakening the very behavior that created it. The key to preserving and even enhancing success is by being alerted to t
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It's Easy to Understand Hard in Business

  It’s Easy to Understand Hard in Business No question, it often seems as though we live in a complicated, bewildering and challenging business environment. This goes for both those attempting to build a business and those seeking to create a rewarding career. There seems to be an endless stream of challenging problems to solve. And yet, the reality is that, at its core, the business of business is simple . Believe it or not, the tougher it seems to get to be in business, the simpler it should be to be in business.   My contention is that the single biggest inhibitor to decoding the simple secrets to problem solving in business is a bumbling gaggle of bureaucratic managers who only offer byzantine systems, inflexible control points, conflicting strategies and knee-jerk actions which only serve to make problem solving much more complicated than it need be. And this approach to problem solving leads to suppressing the flow of fresh ideas and creative actions that could convert challe
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To Become an Effective Leader, Rebel Against Bad Rules

  TEN RULES TO REBEL AGAINST TO BECOME AN EFFECTIVE AND SUCCESSFUL LEADER     If your desire is to become an effective and successful leader, at any level, you will find yourself constantly beseeched to follow the established rules that have ostensibly been laid down to show you the best path to achieving your goal. Initially, these rules may have been well intended, but over time many of them have evolved into a set of stultifying leadership commandments carved in stone. This results in a structured rigid approach to leadership that creates a commonality of approach, but, in so doing, stifles enthusiasm, initiative, creativity and freedom of action. Leadership rules are to be respected, but that does not mean they are inviolet and can’t be challenged. Especially if these rules reach the point of actually impeding or obstructing the implementation of new, creative approaches to leadership. Listed below is a group of established leadership rules that have become susceptible to
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