Category Archives: leadership

In the age of social media, will your Chief Executive sort your mail?

The question is shocking, as it seems impossible. Yet, in today’s social media enhanced workplace, the potential is implicit within the technology.   We would not expect a Chief executive to open a company’s mail, sort it and deliver it. Yet, … Continue reading

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Need to improve your customer service? Have your Chief Executive sign the complaint responses

Sometimes you have trouble with customer service. Try as you might, you cannot find a way to improve it. What may exist is a gap between the senior management and the frontlines regarding customer service. In many ways, the senior … Continue reading

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Four questions for George Entwistle at parliament on 23 October 2012

When George Entwistle answers questions before the Culture, Media, and Sport Committee on Tuesday 23 October 2012, the committee will face several challenges.  First, the committee will show the public’s interest about the withdrawal of the Newsnight programme.  On the … Continue reading

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Are you aware of how your solution has unintended consequences?

In trying to manage, it is important to start by understanding the issue or the problem before trying to solve it. As Peter Drucker wrote, an effective executive asks, “What needs to be done?” Often times, a manager may believe … Continue reading

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Do corporate integrity programmes work or does culture eat them too?

  The Barclays fine for the LIBOR scandal and Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK)’s massive fine by regulators raises the question whether corporate integrity programmes work. All major firms have the programmes in some form either as a corporate social responsibility programme or as an … Continue reading

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The Bureaucrat and the Banker: Bob Diamond’s downfall

Bob Diamond is a shrewd, powerful, deal maker who does not understand bureaucratic politics. On Wall Street, or in the City, your word is your bond. If you cannot keep your word, you cannot do business. Lehman Brothers collapsed in … Continue reading

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Three reasons why Bob Diamond will stay and lessons in crisis management

This blog post has been overtaken by events. Bob Diamond resigned on 3 July 2012. It is unlikely that the LIBOR scandal as described in the FSA report is going to be enough to remove Bob Diamond from Barclays. There … Continue reading

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Thoughts on Barclays, Diamond, and a corporate culture in crisis

As I read the report published by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for the fine of £59 million against Barclays Bank for the recent LIBOR fixing scandal, I was struck by how Bob Diamond’s letter to Andrew Tyrie seemed to … Continue reading

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RBS vs. Lehman Brothers failures in leadership, culture, and regulators.

In January 2012, the Financial Services Authority published its report on the Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) failure. The report is surprisingly candid. It is also a rarity.  The FSA does not usually publish its regulatory reports. However, the size … Continue reading

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Leadership is not a conversation

Despite the claims of Groysberg and Slind at Harvard Business Review, leadership is not a conversation because staff do not listen. The staff do not listen because what is being presented as a “conversation” or a “dialogue” is instead a … Continue reading

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