A business’ CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) values, like its culture, is an Across, not an Up-down vertical silo. CSR is part of a business’ culture – whether it is present or not.

The ideal for CSR is to have CSR practices – and I am not just referring to the donate money to charity part – integrated Across a business’ vision, goals, everyday practices and brand promises.

Some businesses are …

In smaller businesses or teams with low-rise hierarchies (a flat organisation), I have noticed that there is a higher risk for certain personalities to take on perceived responsibilities for beyond their official capacity.

Examples: A junior programmer feels responsible for the financial welfare of the company. A manager feels responsible for the quality of an employee’s personal life.

This can be especially true for those personalities with a tendency for …

In his book On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You’re Not, author Robert A. Burton made the point that:

Certainty is neither a conscious choice nor even a thought process. That unmistakable sense of certainty arises out of involuntary brain mechanisms that, like love or anger, function independently of reason.

This is something for business leaders to be mindful of. To embrace the …

My friend Allison O’Neill is looking for ‘The Inside Dirt on Our Bosses’ for her up and coming book.

She is collecting stories (from all over the world) of the fantastic and the terrible boss/management experiences people have had throughout their working lives. This won’t be a book of petty moans and groans, but rather a collection of real life examples we can all learn from.

Share your story on …

As businesses develop and grow (and I mean this in the larger sense beyond simply size and profits) over time, their strategic needs change. This is a rough diagram that sums up my thinking thus far on the matter. Click on the image to get a PDF version where you can actually read the text.

I am using this to clarify (for myself) how …

Businesses and certain “experienced business people” like to pretend that rationality is the only way to make “real” business decisions.

Here are some irrational decisions I see many businesses make:

Penny-wise and pound foolish. Buying under-powered equipment, not having maintenance and backup plans, reacting to repeated and avoidable emergencies. Because thinking and planning is too hard.

The boss gets the fastest/best/most powerful computer to surf the web with, while the workers …

In his article Why business integrity is so important, Peter Morgan raises two important point about integrity.

Congruency

Having integrity means acting congruently with your values - regardless of what those values are. A business that has integrity does not necessarily mean a business that does “good”. Congruence is the key.

A low-fare airline that expects customers to do everything themselves with no hand-holding does have integrity; because they …

Another GREAT post by Stilgherrian. Well worth a read.

“Innovation is creative work.”
“Happy employees are loyal employees”

They keywords are: Creative and Happy. How often do they come up in management meetings of most businesses?

“Mr Calacanis may have generated more dollars in a shorter time…”

And here in lies the problem, all too many businesses, and the media around business practice, are still focused on how to make as …

The demand for innovation (the myriads of definitions thereof) is certainly out there more so than ever before, judging by the magazines and media. I am talking about business innovation here – that is new ways to design, run and “be” a business.

I predict that increasingly many colleges and universities will start offering degree programmes and qualifications in “Innovation”. It will be interesting to see the different approaches.

Notable …