The following is a guest post by William A. Cohen.

Peter F. Drucker was a genius. Unlike Sir Isaac Newton he didn’t choose to spend his time observing that an apple fell down rather than up. Nor did he ponder on the inner workings and hidden mechanisms of the human mind as did Sigmund Freud. Drucker didn’t even care to emulate Albert Einstein and imagine himself on the business end of a beam of light.

Instead he spent the better part of his 96 years unraveling the secrets of management. He did this to such a degree that he became recognized as the “Father of Modern Management.” I had the good fortune to be Drucker’s PhD student at Claremont Graduate University back in the mid to late 1970s and later, his protégé and student for thirty years when he was still alive. I still consider myself his student today.

Drucker’s Contributions

You can’t talk about Drucker’s spectacular success as a management guru and fortune teller without noting that his first big public prediction was a bust. It was published shortly before the stock market crash which preceded the Great Depression. In a public newspaper column Drucker predicted a rosy future and a bull market.

He ate crow a few weeks later when, with an article on the stock market crash published in the Frankfurter General-Anzeiger entitled “Panic on the New York Stock Exchange.” That must have been difficult for him and it was the last time he attempted to predict the stock market. Click here to continue reading »”“Leadership is Marketing” – Peter Drucker Said What?”

The following is a guest post by Mark Royal from The Hay Group.

What is it like to work for a high performing company? Hay Group’s High Performing Companies Norm provides an insider view. Our High Performing Companies Norm is based on survey data gathered from employees working in approximately 40 companies that are financial performance leaders.

Indeed, these organizations roughly double industry averages on five-year ROA, ROI and ROE. From a total rewards standpoint, high performing companies offer their employees a lot. But they also ask for a good bit in return.

The Good News

1. You’ll feel like the company puts people first
While organizations often proclaim that their people are their most important asset, many of them may not act like they really believe it. But that doesn’t make it any less true. Strategies, business models, products, and services can all be copied by competitors. Talented staff, by contrast, represent a more sustainable source of differentiation.

High performing companies demonstrate the value they place on their people by being open and honest in communications (65 percent favorable, +10 over our general industry norm) and showing concern for employees’ health and safety (80 percent, +5). They are also given high marks for taking employee interests into account when making decisions (66 percent, +11) and informing employees of reasons behind decisions that affect them (61 percent, +11).

2. You’ll be on a long leash
As highly desirable employers, high performing companies tend to recruit more than their fair share of the best and the brightest talent. And they leverage their talent both by Click here to continue reading »”Life In A High-Performing Company – An Insider View”

The following is a guest post by Sonia Di Maulo.

“The Apple in the Orchard” is a story about finding the courage to emerge as a leader, a story I orginally viewed as my own. However, as I run workshops, continue to speak about my book, and get feedback, I realize that it’s everyone’s story.

There have been many interpretations of the story. And this is by design. The story is meant to help you rediscover your natural ability to connect in a meaningful way and to then propel you to action.

• If you are ready to hear this message, then the story is yours.
• If you are meant to do something that you have yet to do, then the story is yours.
• If you have a desire to interact with the people around you in a more connected way, then the story is yours.
• If you are looking for the courage to emerge or if you have “taken the leap” and are in a period of self-awareness or a journey of self-discovery, then the story is yours.

Those who have read the book have identified the following themes in the story: Click here to continue reading »”3 Lessons From Nature On Sustainability, Collaboration, and Growth”

Among the many responsibilities that come with leadership, one that I’m particularly passionate about is facilitating the learning and growth of those you serve. This was also the focus of last week’s HCI Learning and Leadership Development conference where leaders from a wide range of industries and backgrounds offered their viewpoints and experiences on learning, leadership and fostering growth in your organization.

After attending this conference, I wanted to encapsulate some of the perspectives shared by these presenters, along with some of my own thoughts on what you can do to create a learning environment for your employees and with it, create conditions that will help your organization to evolve and grow in meeting the challenges and needs found in today’s global economy.

1. ‘Focus on behaviours to change culture. Behaviours turn into attitudes, and attitudes become the culture.’ – Bob Bennett, Vice President, Human Resources and CLO Global Organizational Learning Development and Services, FedEx Express

While we might rely on training programs to help inform our employees about what we want to accomplish and how, we have to be mindful of the reality that it’s the behaviours our employees see every day that help to shape their attitudes and understandings of what’s acceptable to those in charge. Although training programs are useful in imparting information and ideas, it’s our daily behaviours that provide the context for those ideas.

The behaviours we exemplify and evoke in others also serves to shape workplace attitudes and with it, the real culture and values found in your organization.

So while training programs are important for distributing information and ideas, it’s critical that Click here to continue reading »”What Leaders Can Do To Encourage Learning And Growth”