Professor Isaac Getz is the professor of Idea, Initiative and Innovation Management at the EACP Europe Business School and author of a new book that gets right to the very heart of what it takes to do Great Work in an organization: Freedom Inc.
It’s a terrific book and follows on nicely from the previous interview with Bob Cialdini. The book tells the stories of organizations that are approaching work by thinking about how to work differently and succeeding because of this approach. The subtitle says it all: Free Your Employees and Let Them Lead Your Business to High Productivity, Profits and Growth. Isaac incorporates his own background of innovation but looks at a bigger picture of how work is evolving, and that’s what we talk about in this interview. We discuss:
- How the style of “liberating leaders” is the starting point for any Freedom Inc.
- The importance of people feeling intrinsically equal – and what that actually means
- The impact of a lessening of control from the top – and the impact that has on agility and ability to serve your customers
You can learn more about Professor Isaac Getz and his book at freedomincbook.com.
Posted on March 5, 2010
Bob Cialdini is not just a man of influence, he is THE man of influence. His first book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, is a classic and is destined to remain a perpetual bestseller. And here’s why. As our world gets increasingly networked and matrixed, traditional lines of control and power are loosening and vanishing. Soon, influence is all you’ll have to get things done.
So it pays to understand how it works. And this interview will help. Amongst other things, Bob and I talk about:
- How a study in self-defence planted the seeds for his own Great Work
- What he learned by putting his principles of persuasion into action and giving them a ‘real world’ test.
- The least used of the six core ways to influence people – and how you can use this on everything from menus to career progression.
Bob is Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. You can learn more about him and his company Influence at Work at www.InfluenceAtWork.com
Posted on March 3, 2010
Dave Ulrich is a titan in the world of HR, a champion for HR to get out of the ‘comp and bens’ ghetto to have a strategic impact. I first met him when we were both speaking at a conference in India. A big crowd, all ready to be lectured for the day by Dave. And the session was electric. Dave found the perfect balance between sharing wisdom, being provocative and being playful with the group. He is a prolific writer, with articles and books on many aspects of HR and leadership, his most recent book is The Leadership Code: Five Rules to Lead By. Dave is a partner and co-founder of The RBL Group and is also a professor of business at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
Dave and his wife Wendy have written a lovely piece in Do More Great Work.
In this interview we discuss:
- the art of finding simplicity in complexity – and how that fits with system thinking
- the value of staying in a place of ambiguity rather than rushing to decisions
- the link between energy and engagement
- and why, at the end of the day, you shouldn’t take things too seriously
You can find Dave at on his website.
If you enjoyed this interview, you’ll also enjoy my conversations with:
- Dan Roam, author of ‘The Back of a Napkin’
- Julia Claydon, Head of HR of Nandos UK
- Kevin Cashman, author of ‘Leadership from the Inside Out’
Posted on February 11, 2010
The tag-line for Penelope Trunk’s blog is ‘advice at the intersection of life and work’. That’s good, but quite frankly it undersells what Penelope does. For one things, she’s the founder of Brazen Careerist, a social network which helps young people manage their careers. Second, her blog is a no-holds-barred, deeply personal and often provocative look at her life and what it takes to be successful in business today. It’s a compelling mix of research, personal revelation and wise advice.
Penelope’s piece in Do More Great Work is as thoughtful and as provocative as you’d expect having read her blog.
In this interview we look at:
- The problem with our own ‘internal rules’ about how the world is run
- How wisdom is often found in the ‘in between parts’ and the moments of transition
- Why career advice is often best when it’s based on the ’stumbling around’ rather than the straight line
- How the risk of being real is more than worth it
You can follow Penelope on Twitter at @PenelopeTrunk and on her blog.
If you enjoyed this interview, you’ll also enjoy my conversations with
- Dan Pink, author of The Adventures of Johnny Bunko
- Barbara Coloroso, author of The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander
- Michael Neill, author of Supercoach
Posted on February 10, 2010
