The successful enterprise requires the exercise of leadership. Why? Because such an enterprise needs to be able to adapt, and adaption depends on the exercise of leadership. Simple? Yes and no.
Yes: because the exercise of leadership is in no way mysterious, or something understood and practised by great, or ‘extraordinary’ leaders. Instead, it can be practised [...]
Archive for the ‘management’ Category
The Exercise of Leadership and the Successful Enterprise
Posted in Business, Leadership, Sustainability, leaders, learning, management on July 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Myth and Danger of the Powerful Leader
Posted in Business, Government, leaders, management on July 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
There are no leaders, or managers, without personal frailty or imperfections.
One of the crucial issues confronting organizations, and indeed societies, is the nature of the association between management and employees, between leaders and lead. At the centre of this linkage is the issue of power and control. Unhappily, as leaders gain power and influence all too [...]
Why the Exercise of Leadership?
Posted in Business, Leadership, Shared Learning, Sustainability, learning, management, the unpredictable on June 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The purpose of Leadership and Learning Pathways is simply to promote an understanding of leadership that will help you as an owner, or manager, of a small to medium business, or organization, motivateemployees to make a commitment, as well as to create an environment to retain key people and to reduce absenteeism and turnover.
The exercise [...]
The Secret of Business Success
Posted in Business, Leadership, Shared Learning, Sustainability, learning, management on May 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The two most important factors in business, social and organizational success are:
(1) The exercise of leadership. (2) The willingness to learn.
If those, and especially those who lead the enterprise, exercise leadership in their dealings with people within the enterprise – that is, investing time in people, making deliberate efforts to improve things – while at [...]
Sir Fred and Corporate Responsibility.
Posted in Business, management on May 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
In the Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) Corporate Responsibility Report (2007) you can read the following: “…our goal as a group (RBS) is to run our business in a responsible manner.” Who wrote these words? No other than the infamous Sir Fred Goodwin who scampered away with a pocket full of £1,000,000 notes as a reward [...]
The Cost of a Lack of Corporate Social Responsibility
Posted in Business, Leadership, environment, management on May 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
In 2006 Trafigura were responsible for the dumping of 400 tonnes of toxic waste from the cargo vessel Probo Koala in the port of Abidjan, the capital of the Ivory Coast. The waste was loaded on to trucks and dumped near the city. Over the following weeks thousands of local people found themselves choking and [...]
Corporate Social Responsibility (2 of 2)
Posted in Business, Leadership, Shared Learning, Sustainability, management, philosophy on May 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) incorporates three key ideas:
The idea of ethical responsibility.
The idea that business and organizations, just as with individuals, can be held responsible for their actions.
The idea of obligations towards society at large.
However, certainly in business and corporate world, CSR is generally treated with cynicism. This is unfortunate and in [...]
Corporate Social Responsibility (1 of 2)
Posted in Business, management, philosophy on May 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The question is: As a SME business owner, or organizational leader, why should I have anything to do with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?
Well as Geoffrey Klempner (see: http://www.businessphilosophy.co.uk) points out: “Apart from a few academic philosophers who have taken an interest in business ethics, or in the philosophy of business, all you will get when [...]
Leadership in Action
Posted in Business, Leadership, Shared Learning, Sustainability, learning, management, tagged The exercise of leadership on April 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
It must be said that attempting to link leadership to specific management tasks is a major challenge for the vast majority of organizations.
From a practical management perspective the exercise of leadership entails:
getting people to function at a higher level than has previously been the case.
focusing the work of people in order to serve the overall success [...]
Leadership: Not that Word Again?
Posted in Business, Leadership, Life skills, Sustainability, learning, management, philosophy on April 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
It could be said that the term ‘leadership’ has been, and continues to be, misunderstood and overused by ‘experts’ in the business, organizational and political worlds to a point where the concept has simply ceased to have any real meaning.
A ‘consultant’ who has never seriously studied, or understood leadership can call himself a leadership expert. [...]
