Author, Speaker, Comic, Mime: Breaking Rules with the Intriguing Rick Lewis

By Doug Kirkpatrick, on Wed, May 08, 2013 - 5:12

The Morning Star Self-Management Institute recently talked with Rick Lewis, professional misbehaver, entertainer, speaker and author. He shares some serious and thoughtful observations about Intelligent Misbehavior, Self-Management, and the salience of full engagement.

RAC ‘Em Up!

By Doug Kirkpatrick, on Wed, May 01, 2013 - 3:49

Psychology Provides a Powerful Key to Successful Communication

A self-managed work environment demands open and authentic communication.  When individuals need help from others, communication is request-not-command, since people in such a workplace only manage themselves, not others.  For a request to be effective, it stands to reason that the request should be delivered in a respectful manner designed to elicit a positive response.

What Taxes Can Teach us About Management

By Paul Green, Jr., on Fri, April 26, 2013 - 1:29

Why does it seem that people hate paying taxes?  Taxes are a pretty divisive issue politically, at least here in the United States; some think taxes should be higher, some that they should be lower.  But I've never met anyone who was excited about paying taxes.  Why?

Why Business Academia Probably Won’t Revolutionize Management

By Paul Green, Jr., on Sat, March 30, 2013 - 3:21

A few years ago I was convinced that I wanted to be a business school professor.  I spent a lot of time researching various PhD programs; met a lot of professors (most of them are pretty incredible, creative people); read a mountain of academic literature (I still like reading research articles); and even went so far as to take the GMAT (the required admission exam).

Scariest Article of the Year

By Paul Green, Jr., on Sat, March 16, 2013 - 10:39

I read a recent Wall Street Journal article that made me cringe.  The title of the article says it all: "The Unsung Beauty of Bureaucracy".

Culture Game(changer)

By Doug Kirkpatrick, on Thu, February 28, 2013 - 6:44

With The Culture Game: Tools for the Agile Manager, Daniel Mezick has given organizations a set of not-so-secret success formulas.  His writing is crisp, cogent and to the point.  Best example: his riposte to people that check e-mail in meetings is “Give me a break”.    

Profit and/or Purpose

By awardell, on Tue, December 18, 2012 - 6:15

Mission: "to eliminate needless blindness.”  So reads the prominent tagline of Aravind Eye Care System’s website, a company whose story impressively demonstrates the thinking behind the Self-Management concept of Steppingstones.

Musings on Self-Esteem

By Paul Green, Jr., on Tue, August 21, 2012 - 12:55

We heard from a number of incredible thinkers at our recent 2012 Self-Management Symposium (the best so far, by the way).  One of our speakers, John Allison, the former CEO of BB&T (check out the video here—you need to register to view it, but registration’s free and there are a lot of cool benefits) gave a deeply profound talk that really forced me to think deeply about our shared values here at Morning Star and the Self-Management Institute.  

Does Power Corrupt? Science Says—-Yes

By Doug Kirkpatrick, on Sun, May 20, 2012 - 2:02

Lord Acton, in an 1887 letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, famously stated that: “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  It turns out that Acton’s observation was truer than he could possibly have known at the time.

Are Guns Really the Problem?

By Paul Green, Jr., on Mon, April 16, 2012 - 12:01

Those of you who’ve been paying any attention at all to the news lately are, I’m sure, aware that in February, 17 year-old Trayvon Martin, while walking through a Sanford, Florida community, was shot and killed by George Zimmerman the neighborhood watch captain.

Warning: Changing Personalities Ahead

By Doug Kirkpatrick, on Wed, January 25, 2012 - 8:24

Thankfully, most people don’t experience a sudden shift from feeling normal to the scary, distorting depersonalization depicted in Norwegian expressionist painter Edvard Munch’s painting “The Scream”.  But the notion that one’s personality can change (unlike eye color and voice) is gaining some traction.  There are important implications for organizations.

“This is Intriguing!”, or “I Think This is Intriguing!”

By Doug Kirkpatrick, on Tue, December 27, 2011 - 11:33

One of the core management functions for any organization is selection: how do we find productive people that fit the culture, the paradigm, the zeitgeist of the organization?  A key skill in the selection process is conducting the behavioral interview, especially in a self-managed ecosystem where every affected stakeholder should have a say in who joins his or her team.

“Merbaron Benz” For Sale: The Importance of a Philosophy

By Paul Green, Jr., on Sat, October 08, 2011 - 1:14

A 1991 Chrysler LeBaron convertible coupe in good condition, sold on the street, is valued at about $1,100 by Kelley Blue Book.  In stark contrast, a 1991 Mercedes-Benz 500SL convertible coupe in good condition, with similar mileage, is valued at about $5,000.

Extreme Teamwork: Solving the Coordination Problem at 400 Miles Per Hour

By Doug Kirkpatrick, on Mon, October 03, 2011 - 10:53

The Canadian Snowbirds Demonstration Team has been thrilling audiences at high-performance air shows across North America since 1978.  A branch of the Canadian Air Force, one would think such a group would be rigidly hierarchical—but it’s not.  It’s really quite self-managed.

Lessons My Kids Taught Me #2: Diapers Only Go to Size 6

By Paul Green, Jr., on Wed, July 20, 2011 - 3:52

My wife and I went to Costco the other day to buy diapers for our 8-month-old daughter.  I’m constantly astounded at the variety of baby products available; it’s a little overwhelming.  And diapers are no exception.

Gary Hamel Discussess Self-Management on BBC

By Paul Green, Jr., on Sun, June 19, 2011 - 11:37

Management author and London Business School professor, Gary Hamel, discussed Self-Management and The Morning Star Company this weekend during an interview with BBC Radio. 

Leaving Ireland: Brainpark Founder Mark Dowds on Connection, Transparency and Fifty-Mile Runs

By Doug Kirkpatrick, on Wed, April 20, 2011 - 9:52

The Self-Management Institute recently interviewed Mark Dowds, the founder and CEO of Brainpark, a Bay Area company producing cutting-edge collaboration software that brings people and resources together around pertinent, real-time information to dissolve organizational silos and achieve lofty performance.

The Bossless Organization: From Bosses to Mentor Investors

By tgattis, on Tue, February 22, 2011 - 1:02

We invited Tory Gattis, Institute Community of Practice member, and recent winner of the prestigious M-Prize, to share with us the idea that won him the prize, "The Bossless Organization".  Tory shares below the outline of this revolutionary concept.

Leadership Lessons My Kids Taught Me: Lesson 1

By Paul Green, Jr., on Fri, December 24, 2010 - 5:30

Being a parent is an educational experience, as I'm sure those of you who've raised children can attest to.  But as a lifelong student of business, and more specifically, management, I wouldn't have thought that I would learn all the really important leadership lessons from my children.

Pink Whistles

By Paul Green, Jr., on Mon, October 25, 2010 - 4:49

It appears that high school football has done it again.  I wrote a while back about a Florida school district that had suspended a well-intentioned coach and the homeless football player that he took in off the street because they'd violated some rule that doesn't allow players to live with adminstrators, teachers or coaches.  I still don't really understand the point of the rule, but it's painfully obvious that, in that case, the "rule", had the coach followed it, would have kept a football player on the street. 

The Problem With Rules

By Paul Green, Jr., on Mon, October 04, 2010 - 3:57

I read a news story the other day about a Florida high school football coach and one of his players, both of whom have been suspended.  The story really illustrated how over-reliance on rules as a method of governing sometimes results in really stupid decisions.

Painting the World Blue, One Company at a Time

By Doug Kirkpatrick, on Wed, August 11, 2010 - 11:26

Traci Fenton, Founder and CEO of WorldBlu, on Organizational Freedom, Democracy and Knowing How to Do Calculus

Change is Really Hard. Really.

By Doug Kirkpatrick, on Thu, July 01, 2010 - 11:24

For organizations and the people within them to become more self-managing, most organizations must change.  These changes may include flattened hierarchies, distributed decision-making, empowerment programs and the like.  But as noted by Blanchard researchers Pat Zigarma and Judd Hoestrka, as many as 70% of change efforts fail to achieve their purpose—an overwhelming number. 

Insubordination!

By Paul Green, Jr., on Fri, June 25, 2010 - 2:27

If you pay any attention to the news, you've likely noticed that one of the US' top military commanders in the Mideast lost his job this week.  President Obama earlier this week "accepted the resignation" of General McChrystal, the top military commander in Afghanistan.  Apparently General McChrystal was urged to resign after making some "insubordinate" comments regarding the President and his administration in a recent magazine interview.

Things We’re Afraid to Tell The Boss

By Paul Green, Jr., on Tue, June 22, 2010 - 11:43

I came across this interesting column today called "12 Things We'd Tell Our Bosses".  The writer apparently did some sort of survey of things that folks would like tell their bosses--but that they are generally hesitant (or afraid) to say.  That raises some red flags: an organization has to be suffering if there are things that need to be said, but that aren't being said because folks are afraid of the repercussions.

Managing To The 3%

By Paul Green, Jr., on Wed, June 09, 2010 - 5:09

The keynote at our recent Self-Management Symposium was delivered in the form of an interview of Professor Isaac Getz of ESCP Europe Business School and Brian Carney of the Wall Street Journal, co-authors of the book Freedom, Inc.  One of the things they discuss in their book is "managing to the 3%".  They discussed it in the interview and, as I listened to them speak, it occurred to me that this may well be one of the most dangerous risks to organizations everywhere.

Brownies

By Paul Green, Jr., on Mon, May 24, 2010 - 5:45

How do you make brownies?  Rather, how long is your brownie recipe?  Mine is on the back of the brownie box.  For others, it's an index card or a single page.  I hopped over to foodnetwork.com and searched for brownie recipes and even this rather elaborate one (by everyone's favorite TV chef, Guy Fieri) for Mexican Rhubarb Chocolate Chunk Brownies (sounds strangely good) which is only a page when printed out.

Disruptive Management Innovation

By Paul Green, Jr., on Fri, May 07, 2010 - 10:43

Harvard Business School professor, Clayton Christensen, is credited with coining the term "Disruptive Innovation".  It's an innovation that is originally birthed at the bottom of the market, usually as a substandard product, but moves rapidly up-market, eventually overtaking and obliterating the established competitors. 

The SMI Interview: Dr. Lori Kane on the Magic of Self-Organizing Work Groups and the Collective Self

By Doug Kirkpatrick, on Sun, February 07, 2010 - 11:42

The Self-Management Institute recently interviewed thought leader Dr. Lori Kane, the founder of Collective Self, LLC, her Seattle-based consultancy based on the principles of self-organizing work groups. Lori shares her insights based on over 12,000 hours of intensive study into the power of the “collective self.”

SMI Interviews Chris Rufer, Founder of Morning Star, on the Power and Potential of Self-Management

By Doug Kirkpatrick, on Wed, February 03, 2010 - 11:38

The Morning Star Self-Management Institute recently interviewed Chris Rufer, the founder of The Morning Star Company and its affiliates, about his understanding of and commitment to self-management in organizations. Here is a partial transcript of the conversation.