Sticking with the status quo

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Tom

Some people don’t have the confidence they can do things they haven’t learned or that they don’t know.  They fear that the lack of proper guidance will ultimately make them fail at whatever it is they’re trying.  The result? Nothing actually happens. They stick with the status quo.

Japan, 1946, the country was crushed by allied [...]

The unemployed perfect manager

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Tom

Sometimes the greatest insights come from places you really don’t expect it.  Not that this one will blow your mind away or will have a TED-spinoff.  It’s just that sometimes people are in such a hurry to get the job done that they don’t think about what they already know.  Even if you’re only 24, [...]

Take the responsibility and run

Posted on June 22, 2009 by Tom

People have no problem taking their own responsibility.  When they break something, they confess and pay for the consequences.  But when someone else breaks a glass, all fingers are pointed towards someone else, even if that person was in your care. 

People make mistakes, that what happens when you grow up, when you learn.  The more [...]

Responsibility paradox

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Tom

Half of all the managementbooks out there are about leadership, about giving your team the responsibility so they won’t bother you with all the small details.  It seems like only in management, the higher up te ladder you are, the less time you have to yourself.  It seems like you’re always cleaning someone else’s mess [...]

The indecisive and powerless manager

Posted on May 2, 2009 by Tom

“Let me think about it”, “I need some more time.”, “I need more information.”.  Are there any other sentences that strip a manager from all the power he has over his employees?

Managers used to be untouchable fortresses of solitude, a common employer could never grasp the complexities, the decisions that had to be taken on a daily basis that [...]

Give them problems!

Posted on April 28, 2009 by Tom

If you’re a manager or even someone who has to delegate to maybe one person knows that it’s sometimes more a curse than a blessing.  It seems like every step they take, you have to take that step first.  Even if you remain convinced that they’re right for the job, sometimes it feels like you’re just putting [...]