Tag: Leadership

The Workplace Week That Was: Time to Face It — AI Hype is a Little Overblown

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FOR ALL THE HULLABALOO we keep hearing about Artificial Intelligence and all the advancements that will flow from it, there’s another school of thought to keep in mind. You may be hearing it more these days, and it’s this: Perhaps the AI hype was a little overblown. Case in point: A timely story from Computerworld

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The FIVE Big Things I’ve Learned About Becoming a Better Manager

Editor’s Note: I’ve been republishing some classic Skeptical Guy posts while preparing a new project. This one is from December 2018. HERE’S A GOOD QUESTION I almost never, ever hear anyone ask much less answer: How can I be a better manager? That may be because most of the advice on being a better manager only

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The real secret to managing employees? Just encourage them to manage you

Editor’s Note: I’ve been republishing some classic Skeptical Guy posts over the last few months. This one is from August 2017. A FEW YEARS AGO, I was working as Editor of a fairly well-known talent management magazine and found myself engaged in one of my frequent discussions with the publisher. I don’t remember what the subject was, but

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Dave Ulrich on Smart Strategies to help businesses thrive in ambiguous times 

BACK AT THE PEAK of the Covid lockdown in April 2021, New Zealand technology firm Fuel50 held a virtual FuelX Talent Mobility conference because it just wasn’t possible to stage a live event as they had done in the past. There were a number of great speakers — like Josh Bersin — but one had a very different presentation from everyone else. That speaker was Dave

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Tom Plate: a great journalist and my good friend. Life will not be the same without him

WE CONNECT WITH MANY people in our journey through life, but the few we truly cherish are the ones who, as the famous quotation noted, understand our past, believe in our future, and accept us just the way we are. There have been a few people like that in my life, but I don’t think

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Are you an overbearing manager if you identify with The Devil Wears Prada?

I’VE MET A LOT of big-name media people over the years, but one I’ve missed is Anna Wintour, the famous (some would say infamous) and feared editor of Vogue magazine. The British-born Wintour is known for a lot of things – including being a terribly difficult person to work for – but she’s also the

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Could Manipulating Glassdoor Ratings Just be Just Smart Brand Management?

I LEARNED LONG AGO that user ratings — whether they be on Yelp, Amazon, TripAdvisor, or anywhere else — are easily manipulated. So, is anyone surprised that Glassdoor ratings get manipulated, too? The Wall Street Journal recently published an in-depth look at how some companies have figured out how to boost their ratings on Glassdoor

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The Christmas Bonus Dilemma: Sometimes, You End Up Feeling Like Clark Griswold

I’VE WORKED THROUGH so many holiday season that I’m starting to feel a little like Clark Griswold. If that name doesn’t immediately ring a bell, the character should. It’s the role Chevy Chase played numerous times, but most memorably, in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. One thread throughout movie was how Clark was anxiously waiting to

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The 5 Most Important Things I’ve Learned About Being a Better Manager

I’M A SUCKER for anything that tries to answer a question I almost never hear anyone ask much less answer: How can I be a better manager? Notice I say anything that “tries” to answer this question  because I have found that most advice on how to better manage people usually goes one of two

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What Does It Take to Be a Great Leader? The Same Things It Takes to Be a Great Person

HERE’S SOMETHING I’VE LEARNED from years of managing people: Great leadership wisdom is really hard to find. For all of the many leadership books that have been written — and there are more than 60,000 listed on Amazon — the really great V-8 moments, the “Blinding Flashes of the Obvious” where a truly great leadership

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