Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

In the new book, Talent: The Market Cap Multiplier , you’ll discover how seven companies from around the world reinvented the talent management process to become better functioning companies and talent engines that drive impressive growth.  Dig into Talent to learn the case studies of Johnson & Johnson, Hemnet, Argus Media, HireRight, Vishal Retail, Depop and Oak Street Health.  Authors Anish Batlaw and Ram Charan provide you through these case studies a guide for how to take a data driven approach and playbook to identifying, hiring and investing in the right people, placing them in the right roles, and then setting them up for success.   Anish Batlaw   Ram Charan Batlaw and Charan share these insights with us:  Question: How do you identify, recruit, and support high-performing executive talent?   Batlaw & Charan : We start by developing a scorecard that captures outcomes we expect the incumbent to deliver over 18-30 months as well...

A lot of companies struggle when creating their mission statement . Author  Peter F. Drucker  provides the following good advice in one of my favorite book's of his,  The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization : Every mission statement has to reflect three things : Opportunities Competence Commitment In other words, he explains: What is our purpose? Why do we do what we do? What, in the end, do we want to be remembered for? How well does your mission statement meet Drucker's recommended three requirements?

Today brings the new book, All Are Welcome: How to Build a Real Workplace Culture of Inclusion that Delivers Results , by Cynthia Owyoung . “This playbook is really for any leader of an organization that wants to drive change. This is your playbook for how to approach DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) work in a way that will support real progress in your company,” says Owyoung.  Studies prove that companies with more diversity in their ranks are more innovative, expand their markets, and perform better financially. Why, then, has so little progress been made, especially when it comes to corporate leadership? Because most companies have yet to develop and implement effective diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) initiatives. And the ones that have too often focus mainly on hiring a diversity of staff or rolling out unconscious bias training without improving results.  Owyoung offers these definitions:  Diversity in the context of a work...

In the new book, The Confident Mind: A Battle-Tested Guide to Unshakable Performance ,  Dr. Nate Zinsser , Director of West Point’s influential Performance-Psychology Program, shares his secrets of mental toughness and how to build and master confidence.   In addition to training the minds of the U.S. Military Academy’s cadets, he has coached world-class athletes, a Super Bowl MVP, numerous Olympic medalists, professional ballerinas, NHL All-Stars, and college All-Americans – teaching them to overcome pressure and succeed on the world’s biggest stages.  Dr. Zinsser’s research shows that you perform best when your confidence overpowers your doubt. And, that confidence is a skill that can be taught , improved, and applied by anyone to enhance nearly every aspect of our lives and careers.  “ One trait above all others makes peak performance possible: confidence ,” explains Dr. Zinsser.   He defines confidence as:  “A sense of certainty about your abi...

These quotes truly inspire me : “The three common characteristics of best companies -- they care, they have fun, they have high performance expectations.” -- Brad Hams “The one thing that's common to all successful people: They make a habit of doing things that unsuccessful people don't like to do.” -- Michael Phelps “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." -- Harry S. Truman “The leader of the past was a person who knew how to tell. The leader of the future will be a person who knows how to ask.” -- Peter Drucker “Leadership: The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” -- Dwight D. Eisenhower “Good leadership isn't about advancing yourself.  It's about advancing your team.” -- John C. Maxwell "People buy into the leader, then the vision.” -- John C. Maxwell “Great leaders have courage, tenacity and patience.” -- Bill McBean "People never learn anything by being told, the...

  In  Paul Falcone ’s book,  75 Ways For Managers To Hire, Develop And Keep Great Employees , he recommends asking new employees the following questions 30, 60 and 90 days after they were hired:   30-Day One-on-One Follow-Up Questions Why do you think we selected you as an employee? What do you like about the job and the organization so far? What’s been going well? What are the highlights of your experiences so far? Why? Tell me what you don’t understand about your job and about our organization now that you’ve had a month to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Have you faced any unforeseen surprises since joining us that you weren’t expecting?   60-Day One-on-One Follow-Up Questions Do you have enough, too much or too little time to do your work? Do you have access to the appropriate tools and resources? Do you feel you have been sufficiently trained in all aspects of your job to perform at a high level? How do you see your job relating to the organi...

You can't lead if your employees, team or followers don't trust you. Building trust takes  energy, effort and constant attention  to how you act. To help build trust, follow these 16 tips , recommended by author Susan H. Shearouse: Be honest Keep commitments and keep your word Avoid surprises Be consistent with your mood Be your best Demonstrate respect Listen Communicate Speak with a positive intent Admit mistakes Be willing to hear feedback Maintain confidences Get to know others Practice empathy Seek input from others Say "thank you"

As the nation honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 17, volunteer or make the decision to volunteer in your community. King routinely asked “ What are you doing for others ,” and January 17th is the ideal day to ask yourself that question. The federal holiday was first observed 36 years ago and in 1994 Congress designated it as a National Day of Service, inspired by King’s words, “everybody can be great because anybody can serve.” You can turn to Volunteer Match  to find volunteer opportunities right in your neighborhood or nearby surrounding area. Visit the web site, type in your zip code, and you will be presented with a variety of organizations seeking volunteers. And, if you are a leader in the workplace, encourage your team members to volunteer in the community as individuals. Or, organize team volunteer afternoons or evenings for your employees.

Now is a perfect time to read the leadership book,  Leading With Gratitude , by authors  Adrian Gostick  and  Chester Elton .  Published in 2020, the book provides managers and executives with easy ways to add more gratitude to the everyday work environment to help bolster moral, efficiency, and profitability.  Gostick and Elton also share  eight simple ways managers can show employees they are valued . Then, they supplement their insights and advice with stories of how many of today’s most successful leaders successfully incorporated gratitude into their leadership styles.  Awhile back, the authors answered this question for me:  Question : During this most unusual and challenging pandemic time, why is it more important than ever to express gratitude? And how best should a leader do that?  Gostick and Elton : “Our research shows there is a staggering gratitude deficit in the work world, especially when times get tough. People are less l...

“Four out of five adults report feeling that they have too much to do and not enough time to do it,” reports  Ashley Whillans , author of the book,  Time Smart: How to Reclaim Your Time and Live a Happier Life . “These time-poor people experience less joy each day. They laugh less. They are less healthy and less productive.” And, in one study, time stress produced a stronger negative effect on happiness than unemployment.   Drawing on the latest science, Whillans teaches us how to escape the time traps that make us feel this way and keep us from living our best lives.   She explains that the  six most common time traps  are: Constant connection to technology. Obsession with work and making money. Limited value placed on time. Busyness as a status symbol. Aversion to idleness. The Yes…and then regret it effect.   Her playbook shows you how to :   take back the time you lose to mindless tasks and unfulfilling chores. improve your "time affluence.” f...

  Why do some teams succeed while others stumble? Because hiring, developing and engaging talent requires careful decisions that are too easy to get wrong without data. In The Science of Dream Teams: How Talent Optimization Can Drive Engagement, Productivity, and Happiness , author Mike Zani introduces the science of “ talent optimization ,” a new discipline that’s a far more reliable way to manage your employees than your gut instincts.  “ Proper talent optimization lifts morale, builds teams, and turbocharges productivity ,” explains Zani.  With simple steps, Zani (a former US Olympic sailing team coach) shows how companies of any size can collect and analyze voluntary data about their employees to purposefully align a company’s business and talent strategies.  The book explores how CEOs and management teams can collect and use data to: Build effective teams of highly sought-after professionals while optimizing costs. Create a company culture based on coa...

In  Bob Rosen ’s book,  Grounded: How Leaders Stay Rooted In An Uncertain World , he explains that there are six dimensions of being a healthy leader : Physical health : how you live. How you manage your mind and body – managing your energy and living a peak performance lifestyle. Emotional health : how you feel. This is about being self-aware and having positive emotions and the ability to be resilient, catching yourself when you have a counterproductive thought. This also includes seeking feedback from others about how you act and trying to be more reflective. Intellectual health : how you think. This is about asking questions, being deeply curious and seeing changes as an opportunity to grow, learn and reassess the way you see and talk about the world. Social health : how you interact. This is about authenticity. How do you build relationships? Are you being honest about yourself? Are you comfortable being vulnerable? Do you consider other people’s viewpoints? Vocational he...

Having a mentor is one of the best things you can do to advance your career as a leader. So, decide today to secure a mentor who will work with you during 2022. Make that one of your New Year’s resolutions. A mentor can benefit leaders new to their leadership role and they can benefit experienced and seasoned leaders, as well. A strong mentoring relationship allows the mentor and the mentee to develop new skills and talents, to build confidence, and to build self-awareness. Proper mentoring takes a commitment from both parties and it takes time to develop and to reap the rewards of the relationship. Plan to work with your mentor for no less than three months, and ideally for six months or longer. When seeking out a mentor, think about these questions : 1.  Will the relationship have good personal chemistry? 2.  Can this person guide me, particularly in the areas where I am weakest? 3.  Will this person take a genuine interest in me? 4.  Does this person have the trai...