Showing results by publisher "Stanford Audio" in Leadership

Aikido leaders work to achieve inner calm when under attack and can blend energy with a competitor to move forward. In this program, John O'Neil, President of The Center for Leadership Renewal, explains the aikido style of leadership and the critical elements - adaptability, flexibility, and partnership - necessary in such a leader. In addition, O'Neil talks about creating organizational commitment and communicating your organization's vision.

Terry Pearce, whose career includes 17 years with IBM, offers a road map for finding and using your authentic voice, the key to public speaking mastery.

In the global, technologically advanced business world of today, standard procedure won't allow you to jump the curve. With global barriers to entry so low that companies with fewer than 10 employees can compete effectively, the times require small and large companies to change their strategy. Dr. Oren Harari, Professor of Management at the University of San Francisco, shows how successful companies cope with the accelerated pace of business development through knowledge, innovation, and swiftness.

Today's market is an increasingly sophisticated one - and Dell Computer's reported revenues of $3.2 billion prove that customers are ready for new ways of doing business. In this interview, CEO Michael Dell shares his vision of the potential of online transactions, describes the success of customized Web pages, and examines the possibilities for direct and indirect sales of technology products. Dell talks about cutting costs with effective online support, building effective customer relationships, tearing down the myths of the Internet, and more.

Three things make the difference in becoming a leader and being led - product quality, customer service, and productivity. While managers have made great strides in the first two factors, improving productivity remains a major challenge for many organizations. John H. Zenger, a leading authority on organizational change and high performance systems, discusses practical methods to help an organization shed its past, raise its standard for higher performance, and give employees specific tools required to excel in the workplace.

What do you do when interdepartmental conflict threatens organizational harmony? Peg Neuhauser suggests that the key is in recognizing that different departmental tribes, or subcultures, exist within the organization. By teaching these tribes how to communicate more effectively, the executive can minimize conflict and boost productivity. She covers the dos and don'ts of negotiating with other groups and points out the special role that tribal chiefs play in the organization.

How do you build a company of enduring greatness? Jerry Porras contends that a strong core ideology and the persistent drive for progress are fundamental to the process. Having studied the life history of 18 visionary companies, he offers six key mechanisms that these companies use to preserve their core and stimulate innovation and change. He debunks the myth of the charismatic leader and concludes that all firms can use his findings to improve their organizational performance.

Globalization and the next generation of organizational challenges require new kinds of leadership. Diane Woods of Levi Strauss and Co. explains how to employ specific strategies to leverage the richness of a diverse workforce. She explores the link between global competition and diversity and explains how such diversity is vital to an organization's transformation and regeneration.

How do you attract, retain, and develop more than your fair share of talent? Moreover, how do you build a skilled, flexible workforce that's able to keep pace with changing business directions? Betsy Collard of the Career Action Center looks at steps being made in Fortune 100 and Silicon Valley companies to address retention and workforce development issues. Highlights include the best career management practices in leading organizations....

How has Intuit, the financial software application provider, been transformed by the Internet? CEO William Campbell describes Intuit's partnership with the search engine Excite to create the site Quicken.com. Together, the two companies connect with nine million people looking for personal finance information online. Highlights of Campbell's talk include advice on creating an online community, managing and distributing online content, and a look at online revenue models.

Drastic downsizing in the '80s has left our organizations with a demoralized and apprehensive workforce. How do you reenergize your people? Robert A. Zawacki offers some answers, explaining that organizations need to view "time" as a competitive advantage and let self-directed teams take the lead. This internationally recognized consultant outlines organizations of the future and discusses how to reactivate the workforce to compete in the '90s.

As the relentless pressure of globalization continues to build, what can you do to assure that your organization remains competitive? Barry Sullivan sets the context for what "going global" means and how that differs for products and services. He contends that a shared corporate view of the future supported by keen knowledge of foreign marketplaces offers the best foundation for effective global action. The discussion includes how to create such a shared view and how EDS, his own firm, leverages its resources for global success.

Your company has had 16 years of growth, but now it faces a crisis that threatens to crush the brand, the sales, and the future. What do you do? Last year, this was the situation at Odwalla. Greg Steltenpohl, Odwalla's CEO, recounts the highly publicized public health crisis that caused an initial 90 percent drop in sales, decline in consumer confidence, and intense media and governmental scrutiny. With Steltenpohl guiding the transformation, Odwalla turned itself around and is currently back at 85 percent of pre-recall sales.

All great leaders whose "empires" have lasted beyond their lifetimes have in common some defining strategies, according to business consultant Dr. Keshavan Nair. Great leadership occurs not only in business, but in personal and community settings as well. Using historical references, he explains the concept of Service Leadership and shows how this philosophy can create a climate for success for leaders in any environment.

Professor Michael Ray uses the four tools of faith, absence of judgment, observation, and questions to describe how to release creativity in your personal environment.