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Category Archives: Corporate Governance

Creating value

Friday, January 30, 2009

Capitalism is not a program of action designed to facilitate economic activity, but a model used to describe it. It depicts the consequences of the freedom to pursue economic self-interest. These include everything from markets to anonymous shareholder-owned companies, their interactions, and the individual and collective results of them. Many celebrate the accomplishments of this system, and others condemn the presumed costs entailed in achieving them. But it is worth pointing out that the model does not advocate the pursuit of self-interest . . .

Also filed in Capitalism | | Comments (2)

Fatal and futile fads

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Two weeks ago, we discussed the question of management fads, their causes and effects (academics, consultants, management). Author and consultant Ravi Tangri pointed out in a comment that some of the management ideas commonly viewed as fads are actually productive concepts that do much good when properly conceived and applied. That this is true only adds to the problem. . .

Also filed in Management Trends, Peter Drucker | | Comments (2)

Mr. Market

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

We discussed, last week, the contributions of academics and consultants to the unfortunate waves of management fads that have made a repeated mockery of so many over recent decades. But physicist, consultant, speaker, and author Ravi Tangri makes the important point that the market for these unfortunate services is due at least as much to demand as to supply. Markets, as we all know, are where supply and demand meet. Their meeting, though, generally isn’t a coincidental collision . . .

Also filed in Management Trends | | Comments (6)

Comprehending leadership

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

One of the problems with traditional views of leadership is the tendency to confuse other characteristics with it. A common way we do this is by becoming so impressed by the seemingly powerful presence of one or another trait presumptively indicative of leadership as to uncritically assume that there is more behind it than there may actually be – sometimes even simply equating it with leadership, itself. . .

Also filed in Culture, Ethics, Management, Managing Leadership, Organizational Leadership | | Comments (0)

Organizationless leadership

Monday, October 20, 2008

This is an old story here: there is no such thing as leadership in the absence of something to lead. So, why do we imagine that we have “leaders” whose only need is a leadership position?

Also filed in Culture, Individual Leadership, Training and Education | | Comments (0)

Potentates and politicians

Friday, October 10, 2008

There remains a lot of confusion, including from sources where you wouldn’t ordinarily expect it, about what a CEO really is. There is a persistent inclination to see the CEO as, essentially, the company. He or she is viewed as an all-powerful figure who issues orders which are expected to be obeyed.
Consider this recent piece [...]

Also filed in CEOs | | Comments (5)

A fine mess

Thursday, October 2, 2008

We have been discussing one of the founding principles of the modern leadership movement: the threefold idea that leadership is distinct from and superior to management, and that management is essentially a static activity inherently incapable of foresight or the provision of direction and purpose. Hence, the sophism that managers know how to do things, but leaders know what to do. We’ve already considered the likelihood that management and leadership are not separate activities, but rather are . . .

Also filed in Individual Leadership, Organizational Leadership | | Comments (0)

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