How To Infuse Your Organization With Entrepreneurial Energy

This month brought the release of the new book, Achieving Longevity: How Great Firms Prosper Through Entrepreneurial Thinking, by Jim Dewald.

"I wrote this book because I am concerned that businesses in general, and business leaders in particular, have lost touch with the all-important entrepreneurial spirit that drove growth and prosperity in the past," says Dewald.

Jim Dewald

Dewald also believes that today's business leaders put too much emphasis on efficiency and commoditization rather than innovation.

"The long-term survival of a firm depends on its ability to engage corporate entrepreneurship to adapt to changing markets, technologies, and/or social-cultural factors," adds Dewald.

In his book, Dewald explores for the reader three distinct questions:

What is driving the renewed interest in entrepreneurship -- specifically, corporate entrepreneurship? Are we entering a new era in which corporate entrepreneurship will become essential, even for short-term success?
How can existing business firms best prepare themselves to be entrepreneurial?
What are the pitfalls or barriers, and how can firms and managers best prepare for these unexpected concerns?

You'll also learn about:

the changing (or not so much changing) economic environment and the role of strategy and entrepreneurship in understanding firm longevity and firm failure.
true strategic entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial thinking and how to apply both to your decision making.
the framework, tools and culture necessary to foster entrepreneurial thinking.

Dewald shares this quote from Donald Kuratko and David Audretsch:

"A strategy at its essence, attempts to capture where the firm wants to go and how it plans to get there. When entrepreneurship is introduced to strategy, the possibilities regarding where the firm can go, how fast, and how it gets there are greatly enhanced."

Dewald is Dean of the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary.

Thank you to the book's publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

Mission Statements Are Not Always About Money

From the book, Light A Fire Under Your Business : A clear and concise mission statement defines, in the simplest terms, your organization's core reason for being, and it had better not be all about money. Money is definitely important to most of society, and it is a motivator. But many people aspire to be part of something more meaningful than just a paycheck. They want a paycheck that is also connected to a culture that offers greater intrinsic values.

How To Be An Impact Player In The Workplace

Within the workplace there are Contributors and Impact Players – each representing a distinct way of working – the first leads to a job well done while the other carves a path to true leadership and generates immense value. More specifically, Liz Wiseman , author of the new book, Impact Players , explains that: While others do their job, Impact Players figure out the real job to be done. While others wait for direction, Impact Players step up and lead. While others escalate problems, Impact Players move things across the finish line. While others attempt to minimize change, Impact Players are learning and adapting to change. While others add to the load, Impact Players make heavy demands feel lighter. “ Impact Players is written for aspiring leaders, striving professionals who want to be more successful at work, increase their influence, and multiply their impact,” explains Wiseman. “It is also a book for today’s leaders, those managers who want t...

Job Descriptions Should All Fit Together Logically And Strategically

Whether you have one or many employees, be sure each has a current and accurate job description . A job description is a written document that should include the: employee's duties employee's responsibilities outcomes needed from that position. It should also include the required qualifications and reporting relationship. If your employee has a poorly written job description, or one that is out-of-date, it will lead to confusion and misunderstandings. Once you have a job description for each employee, you'll be able to ensure the descriptions all fit together logically and leave no holes in the duties that need to be assigned. Check your job descriptions at least yearly to be sure they reflect the employee's proper title and current duties. Very often employees get new job titles or are assigned new tasks mid-year, and those don't get reflected in their job descriptions. Don't let that happen. Finally, if you don't have access to a Human ...

Thanks HCI For Naming This Blog In Your Best Blogs - Talent 2011

A big thanks to Human Capital Institute (HCI) for including my blog on management and leadership in its list of the Best Blogs - Talent 2011. HCI is a global association for talent management and new economy leadership, and a clearinghouse for best practices and new ideas. Its network of expert practitioners, Fortune 1000 and Global 2000 corporations, government agencies, global consultants and business schools contribute a stream of constantly-evolving information, the best of which is organized, analyzed and shared with members through HCI communities, research, education and events.

Full Engagement By Brian Tracy

Best-selling author Brian Tracy's book, Full Engagement , provides practical advice for how to inspire your employees to perform at their absolute best. He explains that above nearly every measure, employees' most powerful single motivator is the "desire to be happy." So, Tracy teaches you how to make your employees happy by: Organizing their work from the first step in the hiring process through the final step in their departure from your company so they are happy with you, their work, their coworkers, as well as in their interactions with your customers, suppliers and vendors. Full Engagement includes these chapters and topics: The Psychology of Motivation Ignite the Flame of Personal Performance Make People Feel Important Drive Out Fear Create That Winning Feeling Select The Right People Internal Versus External Motivation At a minimum, Tracy suggests that managers do the following when managing their employees : Smile Ask questions Listen ...

Nelson Mandela Leadership Quotes

Here are my favorite Nelson Mandela leadership quotes: "Lead from the back--and let others believe they are in front." "The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall." "It always seems impossible until it's done." "I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles." "I've learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." "Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."

Three Quick Tips For How Best To Explain Change

When you communicate change to your team, explain the logical and the rational reasons for the change: 1. Explain how the change will make employees feel before, during and after the implementation. 2. Explain the tactical plan and goals . 3. Answer questions from your team.

Six Leadership Actions To Leverage Employees' Differences To Strengthen Teams

The new book, All The Difference: Six Leadership Actions To Bridge Perspectives, Strengthen Teams, and Create Value , teaches how leaders can turn their team's individual differences into deeper trust, greater creativity, and winning results. “The greatest risk of unmanaged difference isn’t conflict: it lies in the ideas, insights, and opportunities that may never surface,” explain the book’s authors, Susan MacKenty Brady , Stuart D. Kliman , and Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Leslie C. Smith . They suggest that you look around your team to fully see people with different communication styles, perspectives, cultural norms, and capabilities. These differences are expressed in all kinds of ways, such as casual gestures in a meeting, a colleague's opinion on a current event, or an intense work style. Often, those differences can lead to friction, even conflict. You may try to manage around them. But, for you and your organization to fully leverage the strengths of your team’s diffe...

Seven Ways To Stay Motivated

To learn how to stay motivated, read High-Profit Prospecting , by Mark Hunter . It's a powerful read that includes counter intuitive advice and cutting-edge best practices for sales prospecting in today's business world. Today, I share one of my favorite sections of the book where Hunter describes his seven things motivated people do to stay motivated : Motivated people ignore voices in their lives . These might be people in the office and friends who have bad attitudes. They're out there, and if you're not careful, they'll control you, too. Motivated people associate with highly motivated people . Just as there are negative people in the world, there are also positive people. Your job is to make sure you spend as much time with the positive people as possible. Motivated people simply look for the positive in things . Positive people count it an honor to live each day, learn from others, and impact positively those they meet. Positive people take great satisfaction...

Daily Intentions For Leaders

Everyone can benefit from the book, Dear Friend , which features bite-sized, daily notes for contemplation, inspiration, connection, and clarity. Busy and stressed business leaders can particularly benefit from the 365 profound, heartfelt reflections from author Michelle Maros , founder of Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life and cohost of the podcast, Life Happens with Barb and Michelle . Dear Friend invites readers to go deep and use the notes as a daily practice that compounds over time, nurturing strength, resilience, and clarity. In just a few minutes each day, this book will offer you a daily reprieve when you feel burned out, beaten down, or overwhelmed by the strains and stresses of modern life. The heart of Dear Friend began in the quiet mornings Michelle shared with her mom, Barb. Every day, they would sit together, reading affirmations or passages from Barb’s beloved books. These small rituals—simple but powerful—set the tone for each day, grounding them in g...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog