Gary Hamel’s Management 2.0

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05/27/10--16:59: Leadership From the Inside Out — Part I (chan 1590659)

In a pair of recent posts (Part I, Part II) I argued that many of us have lost our faith in large institutions. We increasingly feel ill-used by our employers and ill-served by our elected representatives. More troubling still, many of us have also lost faith in faith-based organizations. In this regard, the Church of England (CoE) stands as Exhibit A. Founded 476 years ago when King Henry VIII broke with papal authority, the Church of England has in recent years been fractured by a contentious dispute over the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy. As thorny as that issue may be, it is not the most vexing problem facing the “mother church” of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Today, less than 3% of the British population attends a Church of England service in a typical month—this according to a recent CoE report. That’s down by nearly 50% from 1968. A survey by Tearfund, a Christian charity, found that a third of Britain’s population is now “de-churched.” These are former parishioners who no longer attend weekly services. The fact that more than 50% of UK residents still describe themselves as Christians makes the decline of Britain’s “established” church all the more perplexing. As one website put it, “If the Church of England was the national football team, we would have sacked the manager long ago.” The fact is, the Church of England has become irrelevant to most British citizens. At this point I should declare a personal interest. During the ten years I lived in the UK, I frequently attended an Anglican church just outside of London. I enjoyed the energetic singing and the thoughtful homilies. And yet, I found it easy to be a pew warmer, a consumer, a back row critic. After all, the only thing the vicar seemed to want from me was a kind heart and a generous hand. Like the other congregants, I was asked to donate time and money to the church’s programs—and that was it. None of the clergy seemed eager for me, or others, to actually take the initiative and start something. I was never challenged to lead—only to “serve.” If it sounds like I’m justifying my indolence, I am—but it’s hard to get excited when there’s little scope for initiative, or when the categories of contribution have already been defined by others. Though inclined to faith, I struggled to find my niche in a top-down, pulpit-led model of “church”—and still do. In this regard I’m not alone—well, not if the experience of Drew Williams is anything to go by.


06/17/10--14:19: Leadership from the Inside Out — Part II (chan 1590659)

If you’re a formally appointed leader, how do you you turn sheep into shepherds?


07/06/10--16:19: HCL: Extreme Management Makeover (chan 1590659)

How’d you like to put a question to one of the world’s most inspired management innovators—a CEO who’s challenged a host of management orthodoxies?


07/09/10--14:28: Responding to Comments on HCL’s “Extreme Management Makeover” (chan 1590659)

Thanks, everyone, for your comments about my synopsis of Vineet Nayar’s recently published book, "Employees First, Customers Second." (See my earlier post). A few of my own thoughts . . . Bold innovations often take time. That’s why progress must be judged both in relation to the starting point as well as the final destination. For example, in America’s space program, the first successful docking of two orbiting spacecraft, the Gemini VIII capsule and the unmanned Agena target vehicle, took place on March 16, 1966. While this was an important milestone, it was still just an intermediate step in the long journey to land a human being on the moon. While the commander of Gemini VIII, Neil Armstrong, would ultimately walk on the moon, that wouldn’t happen until 1969. In my experience, fundamental management innovation is also a multi-stage, multi-year process.


08/24/10--14:14: HCL’s CEO on its ‘Management Makeover’ (chan 1590659)

Vineet Nayar on the challenges of leading a management makeover


09/21/10--11:02: Capitalism is Dead. Long Live Capitalism. (chan 1590659)

When it comes to feckless irresponsibility, big business seems to be in the same league as Tiger Woods and Lindsay Lohan.


11/22/10--17:11: Who’s Really Innovative? (chan 1590659)

If you were compiling a list of the world’s most innovative companies, which businesses would top your list?


02/17/11--07:12: Inventing Management 2.0 (chan 1590659)

To create organizations that are fit for the future, we need to dramatically retool management systems around the goals of adaptability, innovation, engagement and accountability.


04/06/11--12:22: Improving Our Capacity to Manage (chan 1590659)

Management is one of humankind’s most important inventions. Our capacity to improve the state of the world is ultimately bounded by our capacity to manage.


05/11/11--12:54: The Purpose of Power (chan 1590659)

It takes power to get things done. Without power, you’re impotent—irrespective of your talents or the righteousness of your cause.