LeadershipConneXtions

HBR Feb 2009 Issue

I will probably cancel my subscription to HBR this year. There are just too many issues that have nothing that I am interested in reading.

HOWEVER, the February 2009 issue is great. This is one well worth going out to the newstands and picking up a copy.

There are four articles that were worth my time.

(1)  Their Breakthrough ideas for 2009. This one just because I like to stay abreast of future thinking.

(2)  Why Good Leaders Make Bad Decisions.  This is a short but sufficient look at two insights from neurophysiology, namely, how pattern recognition and emotional tagging processes can be distorted and then lead to erroneous decisions. VERY GOOD ARTICLE. There is a longer book - Think Again: Why Good Leaders Make Bad Decisions and How to Keep It From Happening to You (HBR Press, 2009) that is either just out or to be released.

(3)  Moon Shots for Management.  Of great interest for me as I continue to study emerging paradigms of leadership. Management 1.0 has generally run out of steam.  It's products are seriouly outdated and insufficient ways of managing that do harm. A new paradigm of management is emerging. Call it Management 2.0. This is an introduction to 25 "radical ideas" (moonshots) to retool management thinking. Very good stuff.  If you want to read a longer book on the subject - Margaret Wheatley, Leadership and the New Science is good.

(4)  And finally, Stop Overdoing Your Strengths. With all the focus on finding your strengths and living out of them (which is very good), here is a caution that you can overdo it. Definitely worth reading.

These four articles make this issue a Winner.

Brian Rice

Leadership ConneXtions International

Harvard Business Review - March 2008 Issue

There are two very nice articles that will be of benefit for church or parachurch leaders in this issue.

Timeless Leadership: The Great Leadership Lessons Don't Change by David McCullough (who has very good thoughts on the role of understanding history as part of our leadership formation).  [Photo of DM to the right.]

and

Is Yours a Learning Organization by Garvin, Edmondson and Gino.  (This is an issue that is close to my heart and worth reading). If you are not too familiar with Senge on learning organizations, this is a nice article. If you are very familiar with Senge, no need to read it.

Brian Rice

p.s.  I just read a few reviews of these books by McCullough and they both sound good, but I haven't read either.

December 2007 Issue of Harvard Business Review

I subscribe to the Harvard Business Review. If a particular issue has one or two good articles, I am usually happy and consider it a worthwhile investment.

BUT THE DECEMBER 2007 ISSUE IS REALLY GOOD!

A great article on the Four Truths of the Storyteller by Peter Guber. Guber is the well-known film-maker and story-teller. This article is very worth your while. Of all the very good articles in the issue - this one was my favorite.

Then there is a very nice article by  Barbara Kellerman - What Every Leader Needs to Know About Followers.

Then . . . there is a wonderfully insightful article by psychologist John Gottman on Making Relationships Work. The focus is on the marriage relationship, but with insights that can be applied to other relationships.  (I also got some good thoughts for my marriage.)

Breakthrough Thinking From Inside the Box is a stimulating article that explains why most "brainstorming, go-outside-the-box creativity sessions" don't work or generate much from most of the participants. The authors (who are consultants on breakthrough thinking) offer a different model which made a ton of sense to me.

There is a nice article (Simplicity Minded Management) on introducing simplicity into your organization. I wrestle with the issue of complexity and simplicity quite a bit.  I found it quite helpful.

And as an added bonus - if you are at all interested in China and India, there is a very intriguing article on these countries.

I don't know if HBR is available at newstands, but if it is, run out and get a copy. I have spent several hours writing and reflecting on thoughts in these articles and looking for the practical, take-away value.

Brian Rice

How Successful Leaders Think

I subscribed to Harvard Business Review again. This is one of those journals that I read for a year or two and then ignore for a few years. I decided it was time to start reading it again. The June 2007 journal had a good article entitled, "How Successful Leaders Think." The author believes that it is more important to ask - how do successful leaders think, than - how do they act.

He found four elements in the thinking of successful leaders. He contrasts their thinking with what he calls conventional thinking. The four main ideas are, successful leaders:

1. Determine salience (or importance). Find and understand the relevant factors, especially those that may be obscure or hidden.
2. Analyze casuality (and connections). Understand the relationship and the nature of connections between the important factors.
3. Envision the decision architecture. See the problem and all its facets as a whole and how any decision will impact both the factors and the whole.
4. Achieve resolution. The solution emerges that takes into account the first three issues of salience, casuality, and architecture.

As I read the article, it really seemed to be focused on problem solving or process challenging. But I found it helpful to see his comparison between how conventional leadership approaches the four tasks and how he believes successful leaders do it.

Brian Rice