A website by Inger Lise, MSc. Change Management
In our lives we have chosen our own moral compass. In our world we meet with people from different cultures and values. In organizations people with different needs and values has to work and relate to each other. Organizations will not survive the test of time without strong values. Leaders who actively apply moral values…
The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said. Peter Drucker Communication of all sorts means mastering the two conversations, the verbal and the nonverbal. Nick Morgan, founder of Public Words Inc., is one of America's top communication and speech coaches. Through his book, Trust Me, he outlines the four steps to communication success:…
Life can be a challenge in different parts of our lives. The question is how we choose to handle it on our way towards our goals.When you climb a mountain, you have a goal to make it to the top. "No matter how much we try to avoid the difficulties in our lives, no matter how…
"It is through science that we prove, but through intuition that we discover". -Henri Poincare Intuition is a powerful key-element to use in leading people. We are all people with feelings, when things are going well or wrong our body will tell us. Intuition is a talent we need to nurture every day. In todays…
孙子兵法是一本诠释不打仗而如何取胜的书。该书的编写是由吴王阖闾提出的，他让孙武编纂一本囊括其战略智慧的著作。 孙武生活在2500年前的中国北部。他一直被公认为战国时期一名精明的军事战略家，他的著名著作孙子兵法记录了他在军事谋略和赢得战争方面的思想。 汤姆巴特勒·波登，一直强调孙子思想在日常生活中有效作用，并依此设计了管理人员和商务领导的课程。 巴特勒波登提到：孙子兵法对中国军事理论的影响可以与马基雅维里的”王子”对欧洲及西方的政治影响相媲美。 孙武告诉人们，用足够的情报和计划，就可以以最少的兵力和损失征服敌人。 “世界上真正的悲剧不是对与错之间的战斗，而是对与对之间的战斗”，乔治W· F海戈尔说。 巴特勒波登提到了一句古语，当我们通过反复阅读（孙子兵法）使其渗入自己的潜意识中时，有时会鬼使神差地使工作达到最佳状态。 孙武认识到，有五种不相关因素会影响领导的决策，道、天、地、将和法。 我们怎么将这些思想用于我们自己的生活中呢？这些实际是什么意思呢？这五个因素属于聪明的领导所遵从的管理方式。 道，在孙子的军队中，指的是达到目的的程度，在此，将领和士兵紧密锁定同一目标。道涉及五个优点，仁、正、礼、智和忠，所有这些都与个人有关。在过去已经有了很好发展的人至少具有这五个优点的一种，并被清晰的目标所激励。 孙武的用兵因素接下来是天和地，解释为战争开展的一般性条件。巴特勒波登提到：”在现代社会中，这可以解释为强调对当前所生活和工作的社会、政治和经济环境的意识。” 这种意识允许人们最大程度地利用机会，规避风险，并培养对未来所发生事情的直觉。 在孙武的思想里，领导者要有软硬结合的品行。特别是他提到了诚实、智慧、仁慈、勇气和严格。所有这些品质是一名伟大将领的标志。他有一颗深刻的仁爱之心，并能成功地处理各项事务。巴特勒波登说：“类似地，一个组织必须紧密集中在其使命上，而且一直合乎组织道德地开展活动”。 孙武思想的最后一项是法，他指的是：“军队的秩序和资源分配”。巴特勒波登解释说：“对于我们自己，我们能够利用它的思想用在房子的秩序和建设物业方面”。在组织里，“法”关系到雇佣具有有相应技术的正确的人。 关于这五个行动的因素，孙武说，“了解他们（敌人）是为了征服，而不是被击败”。他还说：“有能力的领导者在路线上是坚定的。维护法制，从而控制全局”。 戴尔卡内基写了本书：“五个基本的为人能力”。他说:“如果你处于斗争当中，想一想，小孩子在沙箱前争论的时候，他们的行为如何？不要像他们那样做。不要直呼人的名字。不要用手指指点。不要以别的部门为代价试图指出自己毫无过失”。这不是一个恰当的方式解决斗争，它只是增加了对方自组织调整和防范的能力。作者说最好去谈论你自己的行为而不是别人的。 在孙子的思想里，战争需要很高的成本和也有很大危害，特别是长期的战争。他最崇尚的是那种能够避免战争，并能不战而屈人之兵。但是，如果不能阻止战争，下一个最大的战术就是全面战胜，或者以最小的兵力和财务损失获得胜利。 孙武的哲学思想可以应用到今天的组织中，但你必须用新的眼光看待他的战略。 孙子兵法阐述了人的性格和知识的重要性，是成功的关键。“在中国的哲学里，领导能力是种品格，随着时间的培养，自然就成为将领”。对于个人认知和战场的了解，孙武观察到:“知己知彼，百战不殆”。巴特勒波登提到:“我们都清楚知道每一件关于业务专业或生意方面的人，因为个人缺点或错误，缺乏对他们的认识，还不能预先知道这些事”。孙武列出了几点将军的危险的缺点:“鲁莽或粗心，会导致被俘虏；急脾气，很容易被侮辱激怒；死板的礼节和荣辱观所产生的耻辱感的威胁很容易造成坏的决策”。如果想知道“地形”的话，我们需要增加知识，并在所有领域都做得很好，同时要认识到其日常的变化和发展。 领导团队需要智慧和知识。孙武说:“智慧的领导能够看到事态的全局，读懂事情前进的方向”。 “因为帝王处于冲动时刻，不应该开展战争，将领不该参与战斗，因为他内心充满愤怒”。孙武说。 卡内基说:“认识规矩和践行规则是有价值的，因为在大多数情况下，不会有第二次机会可供试验，甚至是不可能有第二次机会”。不论情况如何，关爱他的同事们的领导们，对他们周围的人都能够做到全面的照顾。卡内基说:“考虑他人的感受尽可能委婉地坚定你的信念。强调斗争只与事相关，而与人无关。“ 巴特勒波登已经带我们畅游了孙子思想及他的孙子兵法之旅。 “不要担心人们说你什么，为什么不花时间尝试完成他们会赞美的事情呢？”卡内基。 Inger Lise E. Greger, MSc. Change Management
"The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts". -Charles Darwin Harvard Professor, Paul Lawrence has written the book: "Driven to Lead". Through his book, Lawrence makes us aware of how to apply his four - drive theory of human behavior as well as how…
"When you learn something from people, or from a culture, you accept it as a gift, and it is your lifelong commitment to preserve it and build on it". - Yo-Yo Ma. Leaders who are able to use emotional intelligence ( EQ ) are a big resource in todays organizations. They are able ( in some…
"Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster" - Sun Tzu The Art of War is a book which demonstrates how to win without conflict. This book became a reality when Sun Tzu was asked by the king of Wu, Ho Lu, to compose a work encapsulating his…
"Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals and values are in balance". - Brian Tracy, US author "Being a leader requires you to be continually on the alert for new…
"Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her, once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game". Voltaire Interaction between people is happening every day at work and of course in our private life. James Borg has written the…
"No one would talk much in society if they knew how often they misunderstood others". - Johan Wolfgang Von Goethe The importance of building good relations between people lies in the way we communicate. Debra Fine, has written the book: "The fine art of confident conversation. Fine gives us insight's in how to improve our…
When Drucker talked about the boards' role he would have reiterated his strong belief that large, complex institutions, private or public would need a "truly effective and independent outside" board: "The need is not primarily rooted in the "public interest" or in the wish to make boards "democratic". The need is, above all, a need…
I just read the book:"Leadership and Self-Deception", written by The Arbinger Institute. The purpose of this book is to make us aware of our own behavior towards other people, in organizations as well as in your private life. Very interesting book with many key elements to broaden our knowledge about how to handle difficult situations.…
In today's world we can stay in touch easily, and there is no country boundaries limiting us. I am talking about social networking. Maria Azua with her background as IBM Vice President has written the book: "The Social Factor". Through her book she highlights the importance of social networking both in private and in organizations.…
Why don't we listen more to our colleagues in organizations? We all know that we tend to speak more than we listen. Don't get me wrong, we can't all just sit still and be silent. But if we can take a small part of our time and just listen to what other people have to…
Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz argue that to sustain a successful approach to sustained high performance you must consider the person as a whole. Which includes the physical level, emotional capacity, mental capacity and the spiritual capacity. What makes some people flourish under pressure and others fold. The authors say they have come up with…
Organizational culture is a topic of interest, and it surround us all. To understand the organization you need to learn about its culture. Edgar Schein's definition of culture is : " A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaption and internal integration, that has worked…
Knowledge in organizations is a key factor to survive in today's world. The question is how we use it and in which way we share the explicit and tacit knowledge. The people in organizations possess valuable knowledge, and they use their knowledge every day both in private and in their organizations. Not every one knows…
Emotions in organizations. To conduct an orchestra you need to know your people. But first the conductor has to be aware about his own reaction's before he/she can learn about others. It will then be easier to gain understanding and insight in people's need's and wishes. John Elster ref: Fineman say's: "Most simply, emotions matter,if…
Storytelling is a good tool when talking about knowledge sharing and experience transfer. It is motivating when you listen to a good story, and in my mind more fun. Stephen Denning is saying : " Storytelling gets inside the minds of the individuals who collectively make up the organization and affects how they think, worry,…
Leadership Challenges 