The podcast explores stories about organizations and their performance, as well as relationships between management theory and practice.
In this episode, I talk with Dr. Fred Spier, a retired senior lecturer in big history at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We discuss his recent book, How the Biosphere Works (2022). Fred was previously on the podcast back in episode 113 , titled The Future of Humanity. Listeners may also recall that the … Continue reading 132 – The organization of the biosphere →
In this episode, I am joined by Lindsey Agness, CEO of The Change Corporation (UK). We discuss her book, Change Your Business with NLP. Connect with Lindsey at TheChangeCorporation.com Email: Lindsey@thechangecorporation.com Charles G. Chandler, Ph.D. — Host of The Age of Organizational Effectiveness podcast Reference: Agness, Lindsey. Change Your Business with NLP: Tools to improve … Continue reading 131 — Change your organization →
In this episode, I discuss a way to think about effectiveness in development projects & programs that could allow international development to deliver on its original promises of development effectiveness. I discuss Albert Hirschman’s ‘hiding hand’ that veils difficulties as well as the creativity available to solve problems as planners engage in the design process. … Continue reading 130 – Project effectiveness in international development →
In this episode, I welcome Jeff McManus to the podcast, who is the Director of Landscape Services for the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). We discuss his 2017 book, Growing Weeders into Leaders: Leadership Lessons from the Ground Level, and we explore what it takes to create and maintain a pleasing environment on a college … Continue reading 129 – Landscape leaders →
Gary Hamel (formerly of the London Business School) has characterized management as the technology of human accomplishment. Management came into its own in the late 1800s and early 1900s, as the USA entered the new century. Among the traditional long-standing factors of production (land, labor, and capital) in the British tradition, management became the fourth, … Continue reading 128 – Validity in management →
You may have heard the term ‘Big History'. It comes from historian David Christian, at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. He has a TED talk describing what his team has been up to with Big History, a project that has received some funding from the Gates Foundation. Big History is the story of how life … Continue reading 127 – Organizations in ‘Big History’ →
Given the significant pressures on firms in the real world, what do we know about the traits, characteristics, or management approaches that help ensure that a firm can and will survive within its environment? Some might think this is a difficult, if not an impossible task, given all of the variables at play. Nonetheless, we … Continue reading 126 – Predicting firm survival →
In this episode, I interview Isaac Tolpin, who is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of ConveYour.com, a micro-learning platform. We cover several topics related to the role of training in organizations. Isaac is a knowledgeable observer in the sector and provides an interesting perspective on several training issues. [Note: This content first appeared as episode … Continue reading 125 – The evolution of training →
In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Barry Borgerson, who is the author of The 2Selfs Revolution (2019). Barry is an executive coach who has written extensively on cognition at the executive level. We discuss his latest book and his approach to saving the world. You can connect with Barry on his website. Reference: … Continue reading 124 – Executive cognition →
If you are a manager of an organization, whether business, government, or non-profit, you currently have a hand in managing capitalism. In a very real sense, you are the visible hand of managerial capitalism. Free market capitalism is long gone. Adam Smith's invisible hand of market forces is largely absent today, except where commodities are … Continue reading 123 – Managing capitalism, one organization at a time →
In this episode, I am joined by Glenda Eoyang, who along with her coauthor (Royce Holladay), wrote the book, Adaptive Action: Leveraging uncertainty in your organization. Glenda is the founding director of the Human Systems Dynamics Institute. We discuss her book and her approach to organizational uncertainty. You can connect with Glenda at the HSDI … Continue reading 122 – Adaptive action →
In this episode, I am joined by Deborah Westphal, author of the book: Convergence: Technology, Business, and the Human-Centric Future. Deborah has been helping major companies craft their approach to a human-centered future for 30 years. She is a passionate humanist, operating in a technology-connected world. You can connect with Deborah at her website: www.deborahwestphal.com/ … Continue reading 121 – Convergence →
In this episode, I talk with Storm Cunningham, author of the book, Reconomics: The path to resilient prosperity. Storm is the Executive Director of the RECONOMICS Institute in Washington, D.C. (The Society of Revitalization & Resilience Professionals) and editor of REVITALIZATION (The Journal of Economic & Environmental Resilience). He has authored a total of three books (listed … Continue reading 120 – Reconomics →
Today I talk with Sam Yankelevitch, author of the book, Walking the Invisible GEMBA: Discover the hidden link between communication and quality. ‘Gemba’ is a Japanese word for the real place where the action happens — or the place where the crime is committed. Sam is an expert in finding and removing sources of waste … Continue reading 119 – The invisible GEMBA →
Anthropologists tell us that anatomically modern humans (i.e., Homo Sapiens) emerged about 300 thousand years ago during the Pleistocene era on the African savannas. For over 95% of their history (until the present day), modern humans have been exclusively hunter/gathers, that is, they explored the bounty of nature in small bands, adapting their behavior as … Continue reading 118 – Out of the African Pleistocene →
In this episode, I offer three stories that illustrate the power of storytelling. Stories can be used to knit threads together, shape how we see things, and derive power from the outcomes that they describe. If you are going to change the world, it helps to first illustrate how to change a small part of … Continue reading 117- The power in storytelling →
Today we are at Episode 116 and I am calling it “The management technology your organization needs” [as a footnote, much of today’s content was originally released in May 2017 as Episode 65]. At the end of today’s episode, I will reflect on the fact that this is the 5th anniversary of the start of … Continue reading 116 – The management technology your organization needs →
In this episode, I am joined by Adam Braus — an author, consultant, and university professor who lives in San Francisco, California. He focuses on change, innovation, and new forms of leadership. We talk about his recent book, Leading Change at Work, which offers a unique approach to bringing about change (nemawashi). You can find … Continue reading 115 – Anyone can lead change →
In this episode, I interview David Childs, Ph.D., who is the author of The Organization Whisperer: The 12 Core Actions that Ripple Excellence through your Organization. Join us as we explore key areas of focus for any organization. The twelve core actions described in the book are: Communication; Worth; Purpose; Family; Decisions; Plan; Do; Measure; Processes; … Continue reading 114 – Whispering your organization to health →
In this episode, I am joined by Fred Spier, a retired senior lecturer in big history at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We discuss his most recent book, Big History and the Future of Humanity. Fred describes how complexity multiplied during the expansion of the universe, beginning with the Big Bang and leading to … Continue reading 113 – The Future of Humanity →
In this episode, I welcome Dr. Linda Holbeche to the podcast. Linda is the author of several books, but today we discuss her 2017 book, Organizational Effectiveness: A Critical Take on the HR Contribution. The book offers a historical narrative on the changing landscape of work since the 1980s and considers how definitions of organizational … Continue reading 112 – Does HR contribute to organizational effectiveness? →
Today I am joined by author Lisa Earle McLeod who has written two books in the last few years on ‘noble purpose.’ Much of her early career was spent in the sales department of a large firm, but in 2001 Lisa started her own company, McLeod & More. In this episode, we discuss the key … Continue reading 111 – Noble purpose →
In this episode, I interview Professor Luca Solari of the University of Milan (Italy) who has written a book, Freedom Management: How leaders can stay afloat in a sea of social connections. The book focuses on how organizations can give their employees more freedom at work in order to engage their knowledge and creativity. Reference:Solari, Luca. … Continue reading 110 – Freedom management (encore) →
Today I am joined by a philosopher. Jean-Philippe Deranty is a Professor of Philosophy at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. His research focuses mainly on social issues, particularly those related to work and employment. In this episode, we discuss philosophy in the context of organizations and their management. One of Jean-Philippe’s papers (“The Organization of … Continue reading 109 – A philosophy of organizations →
In this episode, I am joined by Marek Zmyslowski, author of the book, Chasing Black Unicorns: How Building the Amazon of Africa Put Me on Interpol's Most Wanted List (2019). Marek is a Polish-born entrepreneur and executive, focused on online businesses in frontier and emerging markets.
In this episode, I am joined by David Veech, author of the book, Leadersights: Creating Great Leaders Who Create Great Workplaces (2017). David teaches leaders how to love, learn, and let go. He thinks that work should be fun, exciting, and challenging, but most of all, it should be meaningful. We discuss how great leaders create … Continue reading 107 – Great leaders create great workplaces →
In this episode, I interview Bob Prieto, a senior executive at Strategic Program Management LLC, where he is Chairman & CEO. Bob focuses on achieving capital efficiency in large engineering and construction programs and organizations. He is the author of nine books, including the one we will be discussing today, Theory of Management of Large … Continue reading 106 – Big projects in complex environments →
Today I am joined by Martin Leifeld, author of the book, Five Minutes for Fundraising. Martin directed the raising of over $500 million dollars during his 24 years of fundraising leadership in the St. Louis region. Martin’s book is a collection of expert advice from gifted fundraisers. Visit Martin’s website for videos, free downloads, and … Continue reading 105 – Fundraising for nonprofits →
In this episode, I welcome another guest author, Carol Sanford, to discuss her book, The Regenerative Business: Redesign Work, Cultivate Human Potential, Achieve Extraordinary Outcomes (2017). For four decades, Carol has worked with great leaders of successful businesses such as Google, DuPont, Intel, P&G, and Seventh Generation, educating them to develop their people and ensure … Continue reading 104 – The Regenerative Business →
In this episode, I welcome a guest author from the UK to the podcast. Paul Skinner is the author of Collaborative Advantage: How collaboration beats competition as a strategy for success. Paul believes that collaboration is a worthwhile stance because most value is necessarily created by the customer (and other stakeholders), and co-creation of value … Continue reading 103 – Adopting a collaborative stance →
Today’s episode is called “Managing the Next 10,000 years.” That could be a tall order, since managing the next 10 years will be challenging due to expected global climate disruptions, but stay with me and you may be intrigued. Civilization began the last 10,000 years in its pre-history phase, as humans, living in small bands, … Continue reading 102 – Managing the next 10,000 years →
Bureaucracy was an innovation in the mid-1800s, as the world changed from a traditional society to one driven by a new sense of rational-legalism, largely driven by the Protestant ethic. Max Weber, a German sociologist, described the times in his book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904, in German; 1930, English translation). … Continue reading 101 – When bureaucracy was an innovation →
Today the podcast has reached a milestone, at episode 100. Starting back in February 2016, it has taken a little over 3.5 years to get to this point. I hope you have been one of those who have come along on the journey. I am calling today's episode, “Your mission, vision, values, and offerings … … Continue reading 100 – Your mission, vision, values, and offerings … in 10 minutes →
For all practical purposes, the year 1800 was the beginning of the Anthropocene, the age when mankind embarked upon the industrial revolution and great acceleration in economic and population growth began. Yet in a new theory (BioScience, 2018), some conservationists now say that the global demographic and economic trends that have resulted in unprecedented destruction … Continue reading 099 – The view from the bottleneck →
This month, August 2019, the Business Roundtable issued a new overall statement of purpose for a corporation, signed by the CEOs of almost 200 of the largest US corporations. This is a big deal because the previous 1997 statement from this same group had created a major problem by elevating shareholder value as the prime … Continue reading 098 – The Purpose of a Corporation →
In this episode, I am joined by Dolores Hirschmann as we discuss the IDEA method for finding clarity in business. Dolores is a STRATEGIST, COACH, and BUSINESS OWNER. Her focus is on helping clients find their ‘core idea’ on which to base their business (or any other initiative). Her clients have become speakers and authors … Continue reading 097 – Finding clarity in business →
This episode continues our occasional series in which we visit a business to try to understand how it works. Today, our guide will be Mandy Barton who is President of Barton Logistics. Mandy shares an interesting story which serves as a window into the movement of freight by truck, rail, and air in the USA. … Continue reading 096 – The freight market →
In this episode, I talk about the need to reinvent management and suggest a way forward to achieve it. I like to think of management as a technology that makes all other technologies productive (if done right). Yet, today's dominant approach to management (command & control) relies upon an outdated input-output model (developed during the … Continue reading 095 – Reinventing management →
In this episode, I interview Isaac Tolpin, who is a serial entrepreneur and CEO of ConveYour.com, a micro-learning platform. We cover several topics related to the role of training in organizations. Isaac is a knowledgeable observer in the sector and provides an interesting perspective on several training issues. Charles G. Chandler, Ph.D. Links: 1. http://www.ConveYour.com 2. … Continue reading 094 – The role of training in organizations →
In this episode, I join Kendall Lott, host of the PM Point of View podcast, which originates from the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Project Management Institute. Kendall invited me to come on his podcast to explain the new management model found in my 2017 book (Become Truly Great: Serve the common good through Management … Continue reading 093 – Management by Positive Organizational Effectiveness →
The elephant comes with risk. There is an elephant in the C-suite. It has been there a long time, but it has blended into the background and few have questioned its legitimacy or presence. The elephant I am referring to is the goal-setting process, that is, the way that management sets the direction going forward. … Continue reading 092 – The elephant in the C-suite →
Gary Hamel (London Business School) characterizes management as the technology of human accomplishment. It came into its own in the late 1800s and early 1900s, as the USA entered the new century. Among the traditional long-standing factors of production (land, labor, and capital) in the British tradition, management became the fourth, the one that helped … Continue reading 091 – Measurement, meaning, and validity in management →
If you are a manager of an organization, whether business, government or non-profit, you currently have a hand in managing capitalism. In a very real sense, you are the visible hand of managerial capitalism. Free market capitalism is long gone. Adam Smith's invisible hand of market forces is largely absent today, except where commodities are … Continue reading 090 – We all manage capitalism now, so let’s agree to fix it →
Given the significant pressures on firms in the real world, what do we know about the traits, characteristics, or management approaches that help ensure that a firm can and will survive within its environment? Some might think this is a difficult, if not an impossible task, given all of the variables at play. Nonetheless, we … Continue reading 089 – The Keys to Firm Survival →
For most of the history of management (beginning in the mid-1800s), organizations included command and control structures and top-down information flow. Managers were viewed as the boss, the big cheese, the man, or master within a hierarchical system of control. This is an authoritarian model of organization, where management drives the organization as a machine, … Continue reading 088 – Management as servant, not master →
Anthropologists tell us that anatomically modern humans (i.e., Homo Sapiens) emerged about 300 thousand years ago during the Pleistocene era on the African savannas. For over 95% of their history (until the present day), modern humans have been exclusively hunter/gathers, that is, they explored the bounty of nature in small bands, adapting their behavior as … Continue reading 087 – Back to the Pleistocene →
Worker productivity is the output of goods and services per hour worked. In the broad terms of an industry, productivity is the gross output of industry sales divided by the number of workers allocated to produce the output. After World War II, worker productivity in the USA improved significantly due to the investments made by … Continue reading 086 – Why does worker productivity remain low? →
Peter Drucker predicted in his 1959 book, The Landmarks of Tomorrow, that the most valuable assets of a 21st Century institution (business or non-business) would be knowledge workers and their productivity. In this episode, I explore this idea, and how it has played out (since we are almost 60 years downstream from Drucker’s prediction). Not … Continue reading 085 – We are all knowledge workers now →
If we need fresh evidence that management is broken, we only have to look at the 2017 numbers on worker engagement from Gallup. Only 21% of employees strongly agree that they are managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work. Overall, 33% of US workers report that they are actively engaged with … Continue reading 084 – Three reasons management is broken (but can be fixed) →
In this episode, I interview David Childs, Ph.D., who is the author of The Organization Whisperer: The 12 Core Actions that Ripple Excellence through your Organization. Join us as we explore key areas of focus for any organization. The twelve core actions described in the book are: Communication; Worth; Purpose; Family; Decisions; Plan; Do; Measure; Processes; … Continue reading 083 – The Organization Whisperer →
In this episode, we visit with Matt Miller, founder of School Spirit Vending. Matt heads a business enterprise that uses a franchise model to serve a unique niche at the intersection of vending & school spirit — helping to raise extra funds for elementary schools. Charles G. Chandler, Ph.D. Links mention in this episode: School Spirit Vending Vending Secrets for Passive Income (course)
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