Archive for March, 2010
Great Quotations, 3/29/2010
Monday, March 29th, 2010“Moral: adj. Conforming to a local and mutable standard of right; having the quality of general expediency.” – Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary
The ethical world is far from flat
Monday, March 29th, 2010The verdict is in.
In the court of public opinion, Google is guilty/innocent of disrespecting-the-laws-of-a-sovereign-nation-in-which-it-does-business/standing-up-for-its-principles.
It is a paragon of/typical example of an ethical-enterprise-at-its-best/corporate-arrogance-at-its-worst.
Read the comments following various blogosphere commentaries on Google’s decision to stop censoring its Chinese search engine and mostly you’ll discover ethics is a popular spectator sport.
ManagementSpeak, 3/22/2010
Monday, March 22nd, 2010ManagementSpeak: I like to think of myself as your peer rather than your boss.
Translation: I’d fire your sorry behind if I could get away with it.
This week’s contributor decided to remain anonymous, out of concern that someone might take offense and fire his behind … which would, indeed, be a sorry result.
The importance of being a person
Monday, March 22nd, 2010Margin is so often misunderstood.
People who should know better explain that companies selling products with low profit margins should pursue a different strategy, because “… a 5% profit margin isn’t doing very well for your shareholders.”
They’re confused. Don’t believe me?
ManagementSpeak, 3/15/2010
Monday, March 15th, 2010ManagementSpeak: We’re putting together an offer to see what it should look like.
Translation: We’re waiting to see if another candidate accepts a smaller offer.
This week’s contributor, having taken the offer, has wisely decided to remain anonymous.
ManagementSpeak: We’re putting together an offer to see what it should look like.
Translation: We’re waiting to see if another [...]
Personal business strategy
Monday, March 15th, 2010Business strategies and tactics aren’t real strategies and tactics. They’re metaphorical strategies and tactics.
The terms “strategy” and “tactics” belong to military planners, who use them to decide on the actions … broad and specific, respectively … their forces pursue to defeat an enemy.
Many businesses pursue what they call strategies and employ what they’re pleased to [...]
ManagementSpeak 3/8/2010
Monday, March 8th, 2010ManagementSpeak: Humor me.
Translation: I heard everything you just said, and you’re right. I know it’s a bad idea. My boss is making us do it, but I can’t tell you that.
KJR Club member Natalie Bueno Vasquez knew sharing this phrase with us was a good idea.
Who’s a business and what isn’t
Monday, March 8th, 2010 If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times: IT generally shouldn’t run itself as a business that sells to its internal customers. It should, instead, act as an active, integral part of the organization, collaborating with everyone else to create value for Real Paying Customers.
Something else I’ve often recommend: Don’t think [...]
ManagementSpeak, 3/1/2010
Monday, March 1st, 2010ManagementSpeak: Once you’ve identified the members of your team who are critical to achieving your department’s business goals, aim to spend roughly 80 percent of your time with the top 20 percent of your staff.
Translation: Micromanage the best, ignore the rest.
This week’s anonymous contributor couldn’t ignore this instruction from his company’s internal management newsletter.
In defense of specialists
Monday, March 1st, 2010Four words to eliminate from your vocabulary are good, bad, right, and wrong.
No, I’m not promoting rampant immorality, abandonment of your ethical code, or abolishment of truth, righteousness, and the American way.
What I want people to do is to avoid using these as categories, into which they file ideas so that later on they know [...]
Bob Lewis is president of 