Blog

See our experts’ latest contributions on consulting, execution, growth, simplification and other key topics in today’s industry-leading blog posts.

Your Strategy Won’t Work if You Don’t Identify the New Capabilities You Need

Strategic planners and senior executives either assume that if a strategy is logical, people will figure out what to do, or they develop a “paint by numbers” approach. Neither extreme works well. If leaders want their company to sustain critical changes the strateg…

10.26.17  Robert Schaffer

All Management Is Change Management

Managers have begun to view change as an extraordinary event that must be dealt with using change management techniques and special skills. However, the job of management has always involved defining what changes need to be made and seeing that those changes take p…

06.15.17  Ron Ashkenas

How to Handle Underperformers on a Team You Inherit

Creating the expectation for high performance and doing what’s necessary to help your team be successful is a critical skill for anyone managing others. Many new managers are concerned about the optics of handling underperforming team members.

02.02.17  Ron Ashkenas

How to Overcome Executive Isolation

Being isolated at the top can compromise your decision making and leadership effectiveness, both of which require having as much firsthand information about a situation as possible. Learn how to clear the air and get real information.

09.23.16  Ron Ashkenas

You Can’t Delegate Talent Management to the HR Department

Having great talent is a strategic imperative. Unfortunately, centralized talent management is not always the best option. Learn how leaders at Cognizant stay involved in the process to make it work.

Leadership May Not Be the Problem with Your Innovation Team

Harvard Business Review readers rated their organizations on the four conditions required for innovation to thrive. 80% thought their companies were under-performing on this front. They pointed out many opportunities for improvement.

06.10.16  Ron Ashkenas

The Go-to-Market Approach Startups Need to Adopt

Figuring out a go-to-market approach is no trivial exercise – it separates the companies that will be successful and sustainable from those that won’t. Learn how to ask the right questions from your customers' perspective.

04.22.16  Ron Ashkenas

Keeping Meetings on Track When You’re Not in Charge

With the amount of time that meetings take up, it’s crucial to remember that even if you’re not in charge, you can contribute to a meeting’s effectiveness and productivity, particularly through small acts of courage.

04.12.16  Ron Ashkenas

Leadership Development Should Focus on Experiments

Without real results, leadership development is a leap of faith. In order to succeed and provide value to the organization, managers must act. By focusing on constant experimentation, leadership development can be a driver for strengthening organizational capabilit…

04.05.16  Ron Ashkenas

Navigating the Emotional Side of a Career Transition

According to Gallup research, 55% of people in the U.S. define themselves by their job. That can make career transitions quite emotional. If you want to ensure that you’ll succeed, emotionally and professionally, here are two steps that you can take.

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