Category: Corporate culture

Good Boss, Bad Boss Part I

Years ago when I worked for a company in LA we got in a new boss from Chicago to reorganise the office. He was a bit younger than I, had a reputation of being the no-nonsense sort, and took over a sizable operation-which definitely needed hands-on leadership. I was one of the senior sales people,…
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The Snake in the Grass

I recently had coffee with a friend, a former senior hedge fund manager. He now works on his own, paid his dues over many years in the banks, and for a number of years ran the Asia-Pac investment-banking practice for one of the white-shoe financial institutions. As is my wont, we talked about corporate politics.…
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Networked or overworked?

What is your network? How large is it? How varied, how supportive for you is your network? If you think this is a simple exercise or question, you probably don’t have the right network yet. It amazes me how many ‘senior’ business people are less than interested about building, cultivating and maintaining their professional network…
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Please please me

I had coffee last week with a woman who is General Counsel for a US based consultancy. She reminisced about her first job 20-some years ago, working with a senior partner in a law firm who was a notorious SOB. His reputation was to intimidate and grind down those who were supposed to help him.…
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The [overly] ambitious subordinate… look out

The other day I spoke to a friend, a regional director, where he’d been recently, how his new hires were doing, work chit-chat. He said that one new hire (working elsewhere in the region) was doing very well; smart guy, good pedigree and contacts, presents well and ‘made a contribution from day one.’ My friend…
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5 reasons why the boss doesn’t develop new talent

I often grapple with clients who can’t seem to decide on whom to hire. I hear all sorts of reasons; the budget, the economy, quarterly earnings, changes in strategy, cultural fit, etc, ad nauseam. What it also means is that no decision is made. A search goes on that much longer, causing heartburn–if not burnout–for…
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The boss can mentor, but can the boss really coach?

I often hear senior management (Pres, CEOs, MDs ) say they’re good coaches to their key people. And I see more books exhorting leaders to be Chief Coach. Hmmm.. Many bosses can mentor, (often be great mentors), but it’s not quite the same thing as coaching.. I personally don’t think bosses are good coaches. Occasionally,…
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