Author Archives: Michael Folkman
Be More Like Mathematicians!
Over at Boing Boing (here), Maggie Koerth-Baker points us in the direction of an interesting question posted on Quora (here), where someone asks “What is it like to have an understanding of very advanced mathematics?” In response, someone posted this … Continue reading
Greatest Assets?
A provocatively titled blog over at HBR (here) by Anthony J. Bradley and Mark P. McDonald questions the much used adage, “people are our greatest asset” (PAOGA from now on). The article raises some interesting points, bringing together ideas around … Continue reading
The Value in Mentoring
The rapid growth in the number of accelerator programs in the start-up world brings the role of mentoring to the fore as a valuable tool for helping emerging entrepreneurs. With high profile programs such as Y Combinator, Techstars in the … Continue reading
Systemic Barriers to Innovation
My previous post (here) commenting on Bill Taylor’s critique of the role of industry experience on decision making and innovation got me thinking about the systemic barriers to innovation that exist in many organisations. Taylor argues that by framing decision … Continue reading
Industry Experience not Required?
Following on from yesterday’s post about leadership failure and the continued reliance on past experience as an indicator of leadership potential (here). The ever thought provoking Bill Taylor posted a blog (here) on HBR questioning the value or relevance of … Continue reading
Leadership and Relationships – The Importance of Fit
HRVendornews (here), highlights a new survey from Right Management and Chally Group that reports some interesting findings about the causes of corporate leadership failure. Among the more eye-catching figures are: “Failure to build a team or relationships was singled out … Continue reading
Knowing When to Step Down – Dilemmas of Succession
Succession is one of those topics that gets very little coverage given it’s significance. An interesting blog post in the New York Times (here) by Quentin Hardy draws attention to some of the pitfalls in not having a plan in … Continue reading
A Problem with Complexity
If engagement was the buzzword amongst OD and HR professionals last year, the current word du jour seems to be complexity. HR Magazine recently (here) featured research carried out by Simon Collinson at Warwick University and consultancy Simplicity Partnership that … Continue reading
