As the new superintendent of the Philadelphia School District, Tony Watlington faces many issues that need to be addressed. In addition to the adequacy of teacher pay and the difficulty in hiring teachers to fill classroom vacancies, I would hope that the transition teams he appointed will focus on four areas.
Follow these guidelines for writing a business article
Write about your values and what you have learned to achieve success during your career. Comment on the actions of leaders when you think those actions teach a lesson on what to do or what not to do. Share your own experience in similar situations and what you learned.
Graduates, step out of your comfort zone and embrace change
As you pursue your career, the best advice I can share with you is to step out of your comfort zone. Be open to new opportunities that come your way and create your own opportunities. You never know where these opportunities might take you. Embrace change, the only constant in life.
5 principles to move your company from good to great
As the CEO, I would tell our employees never to refer to our company as great. This is for third parties to do, and our response should always be, “Thank you, but we are on a journey, and have a long way to go before achieving greatness.”
Debating issues with direct reports is key to effective decision-making
Every employee wants their voice to be heard, to feel valued and to have ownership in the decision-making process. The leaders who understand this and empower their employees to be active contributors will set themselves apart with better decision-making and higher employee retention.
How to manage the investment process in a capital-intensive business
A focused and disciplined approach to capital budgeting is to classify investment projects into five categories: investment in safety and environmental stewardship, repair of buildings and equipment, information technology, optional profit improvement and expansion of current businesses and investment in new businesses. Each has its own investment criterion.
Chernobyl’s lesson to leaders is always face the brutal facts of reality
The lessons of Chernobyl for all political and business leaders are the same lessons relearned over and over again after many disasters and scandals. Always face the brutal facts of reality.
Avoiding destructive office politics is key to business success
How can you rise above destructive office politics? Meet your commitments to others. Build trust with your peers. Develop alliances. Keep your adversaries close. Build relationship capital. Most importantly, do your job and achieve results, and let those results and your reputation speak for themselves.
Why all leaders should follow Warren Buffett’s message on reputation
“Lose money for the firm, and I will be understanding. Lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless.”
Emotional intelligence is key to every individual’s success
Emotional intelligence is recognized as a key leadership trait. EQ is also important to the success of everyone who interacts with people, regardless of their position within an organization.
Leadership lessons taught by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky
Business leaders will never face the challenges of Zelensky. However, the traits needed to inspire your organization are the same: superb communication skills, inner fortitude and a laser focus on the challenge. With these traits, you can rally your organization to accomplish goals thought to be unachievable.
When it’s a seller’s market for talent, how do you attract and retain employees?
“A toxic corporate culture is by far the strongest predictor of industry-adjusted attrition and is 10 times more important than compensation in predicting turnover …. Toxic cultures include … workers feeling disrespected and unethical behavior.” Ensure your corporate culture is not toxic.