Barry Goldberg
Would You Put Your Life on the Line to Lead?
Telegraph photo of Tahmina Kohstani Tahmina Kohistani is not likely to win any medals. Her best time in the 100 yard dash is 3 seconds off the championship pace- and she will not have the advantage of running in shorts and an athletic shirt....
A Constructive Use for Fear
Fear can be a powerful motivator. But how it is used tells us a lot about a leader. There have been a number of leaders (both fictional and real) who were masters at using fear and intimidation to get results. Have a...
Is it a Dream or a Vision?
It is that time of year again. The crowds at the gym and walking paths have begun to thin from their Jan 3 crowd levels. The meetings about new goals and objectives are receding and the day to day work of execution...
A Surgeon’s view of Coaching
New Yorker Magazine ran this article on coaching in their October 3 issue. It is surprising for a few reasons, not least of which is that it is written not by a coach but by a surgeon. Realizing the importance of continuous...
PonderThis: What Do You Reward?
What does the way a leader rewards employees say about the organization? Rewards are powerful, no matter what behavior we are rewarding- or why! Have a look at the two video's this week from major league baseball games. First have a look at...
Been in These Meetings?
I found this piece on meetings this morning by John E. McIntyre of the Baltimore Sun. It is a very funny take on the stereotypical caricatures found around a meeting table. Sad to say his description is all too true. And...
PonderThis: Why the Soft Stuff is Not Soft
I still hear the term "soft stuff" in reference to organizational effectiveness work. Naturally I do not think so. And just as naturally, a large percentage of the business community still feels that they can lead solely based on the balance sheet....
PonderThis: When a Good Idea Gets Off the Leash
Sliding Down the Razor Blade of Life If you're new here, or a refugee from the Entelechy Partners blog, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. If you prefer email- put your email in to the right and Feeblitz will deliver for you....
When Reacting is a Good Thing
One of the fundamental leadership tools I employ (The Leadership Circle Profile-360) contrasts the time, energy and focus of attention an executive devotes to creating a new future with reacting to current reality. After all, a leader must be leading somewhere and that...
PonderThis: How a Leader Becomes a Leader
One of the questions that often comes up in leadership development is whether leaders are born or made? Is all the effort to develop leaders worthwhile? Sometimes I feel like Woody Allen's character in Stardust Memories- interrogating super intelligent beings who tell...
PonderThis: The Cost of Not Listening
I generally stay away from "postmortem" work, but a client recently asked me to look into what was behind the failure of a sizable process change they had attempted. I talked with sponsors, end users, members of the project team and heard all...
PonderThis: “Show Some Leadership!” The New “That’s not Fair!”
In years of leading executive discussion groups and off-sites I have come to expect that most attempts to define leadership end up with(or at least pass through) a nod to Justice Potter Stewart, who is known for the concept of "I do not know...
PonderThis: Google in Egypt- Testing Corporate Values
I have often railed here about the cynicism and negativity created by hollow corporate values. But today we get to see the power of a core principal when it survives the stress test. Google has a lot at stake in Egypt. It remains...
If You Are Going to Apologize- Apologize
If you prefer email- put your email in to the right and Feeblitz will deliver for you. And, although no one will disavow knowledge of your actions, this message will self destruct after your third visit to the blog. Thanks for visiting! Another Super...
Beyond New Year’s Resolutions
It is that time of year again- New Years means New Year's resolutions. Recently my web feeds have been full of cynical articles about why we are so poor at keeping resolutions. The stories of gyms that are crowded from Jan 1...
A New Perspective
I was in Sydney last week and spent an evening at a concert by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Based on counsel from those who know the hall, I booked a seat in the choir section, above and behind the orchestra. I have...
PonderThis: US Elections- We Have Met the Enemy
We have had a lot of yelling and finger-pointing pretending to be public discourse the last couple of years here in the USA. Our increasing appetite for extremism and mud slinging may be the single biggest obstacle to finding a way out of...
Leading in a Fishbowl: Another Ryder Cup Clinic
Another Ryder Cup competition is history and as usual, the event has not disappointed. The Ryder Cup is a proving ground, squeezing the best performance from the best players in the world. It is also a pressure cooker, exposing weaknesses or lack of focus. ...
Does Robert Dudley Have What It Takes?
When Tony Hayward took the helm at BP in 2007, he did so in the shadow of Lord John Brown whose departure was hastened by the board based largely on an abysmal safety record. Hayward was charged with creating a culture of safe operations. ...
PonderThis: Simple Rules for Getting a Project Started
Getting a project or initiative off the ground is an important leadership competency, and yet may die in the planning process or simply do not gather enough inertia to get off the starting line. At a meeting this week in Washington, I heard Kim...