http://www.isnare.com/?s=author&a=Ian+G+Cook Business Management Ian G Cook Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=370079&ca=Business+Management So, you want to be a success? And you want those who work for you to succeed? Then you might as well know the (bad ?) news. Successful, effective people are courageous people! Aristotle said courage is the primary human virtue. And the ultimate courage is to accept what philosopher Peter Koestenbaum... Business Management Ian G Cook Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=352713&ca=Business+Management Are your employees clear about what you expect from their performance this year? I should be able to come in as a consultant, sit down one-on-one with any individual who reports to you and ask him or her, "What will constitute 'fully satisfactory' and 'outstanding' performance by you over the curren... Business Management Ian G Cook Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=352721&ca=Business+Management They had a momentary pause of puzzlement when I asked them. So, I put the question to my audience again, "What is your current edge for development?" "What do you mean?" they ask. "I mean," I say, "if you could snap your fingers and instantly improve significantly in one aspect of your work that wou... Leadership Ian G Cook Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=344733&ca=Leadership It is mid afternoon. You are sitting at your desk trying to pull together this important proposal for your boss. It is due the day after tomorrow. As you wrestle with how to incorporate a complex spreadsheet from the finance department, you wonder when your quality analyst will bring in those last t... Leadership Ian G Cook Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=344741&ca=Leadership “Our people are the key to our success?” How so very often we have heard executives mouth these words. But then, how very often we have also heard their people mutter words such as, “Oh yeah, well, if we really are the key, how come they don’t ...” Of course, it is true. In this increasingly competi... Leadership Ian G Cook Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=344317&ca=Leadership Do you remember the last time you attended the initial meeting of a new task force or project team at work? No one could agree on the goals. A couple of people complained about all their other work demands. Someone was pushing a personal agenda to become the team “leader.” After a couple of hours of... Leadership Ian G Cook Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=344745&ca=Leadership Is your upcoming meeting a strategic planning session? A sales or project launch? A departmental communications day? Or, perhaps, teambuilding for an intact management or project team? Whichever it is, it undoubtedly involves a significant investment. First you have the value of the participants’ ti... Leadership Ian G Cook Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=339092&ca=Leadership So much is changing in our economic and business environment these years, is it any wonder that the nature of leadership is changing too? We're not talking a new fad, here, folks. Fads come and they go. Leadership—as it is progressively practiced today—is here to stay! If you manage, supervise, dire... Leadership Ian G Cook Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=344185&ca=Leadership “I never get to the truly managerial parts of my own job.” “I’m staying too late at night and working too many weekends.” “_________ is really ready to advance but I have no job to promote him/her to right now” “If I don’t give my best people some new challenges soon, I may lose them.” Sound familia... Leadership Ian G Cook Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=344194&ca=Leadership Isn’t it funny what we assume about leaders in senior positions. They no longer have anything to learn about interpersonal relationships or leadership. They have arrived, proof positive of their skill level! Furthermore, only a fearless few people will give them the honest, useful feed-back that sel...