Category Archives: management

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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The rise of the networked managers: sense making in the social media age.

The manager’s role is changing. The new organisation, connected and networked,  requires managers to deal with internal and external issues.  The required skill set is changing.  In the past, the focus may have been on service delivery based on top … Continue reading

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What you allow to interrupt you defines your priorities

We often hear management gurus advising us that effective and successful leaders know how to prioritise their work and the work of their company. To an extent, they are correct. What is left unsaid and not discussed is how those … Continue reading

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Three reputation management reasons explain why Penn State and the NCAA settled so quickly

In the United States, the Jerry Sandusky scandal has gripped college sports unlike any scandal it has ever faced. The story centres on his criminal convictions for sexually assaulting young boys when he was a coach at Penn State and … Continue reading

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Are we all managers now?: the rise of the self-organising organisations.

The future of manager is connected to the future of work.  There has been talk of the self-organising organisation, which would cut or end the need for managers.  Instead, we are all managers now. The future of work will be … 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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Are there Good Samaritans on Wall Street if you can be taken for 9 Billion

When JP Morgan lost 9 billion dollars on a derivatives trade, many people saw it as the market functioning properly.  What made the story interesting is the scale of the losses, 9 billion dollars at last estimate.  Yet, the story … 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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