Management and Leadership Best Practice 2 – Providing the Tools

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At one time or another, we have all been told that we should use the right tools for the job. And it’s easy to understand how using the proper tools and possessing the appropriate skills helps a given assignment proceed at optimal efficiency; which is also to say at the lowest cost.

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StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective – America’s Oil Addiction

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StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective podcasts examine the unnecessary marketplace uncertainty created by today’s headline events and the actions business leaders should take to ensure their organizations succeed under these circumstances.

In America’s Oil Addiction, we are joined by Lewis Reynolds, author of America the Prisoner: The Implications of Foreign Oil Addiction and a Realistic Plan to End It. Lewis shares his thoughts on America’s seemingly endless need for foreign oil and the actions business leaders should take to strengthen their organizations while helping to end our addiction, including:

  • the significant issues America’s oil addiction brings with it
  • actions that should be taken to end America’s addiction to foreign oil from a national perspective
  • actions business leaders should take that will serve to both end America’s oil addiction and help improve their organization’s bottom line
  • specific business sectors and offerings representing business opportunities that leaders should consider pursuing in light of America’s effort to reduce its oil consumption

Additional Information

In addition to the invaluable insights Lewis shares in America the Prisoner and this StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective podcast are the resources accessible from his website, www.AmericaThePrisoner.com.   Lewis’s book, America the Prisoner, can be purchased by clicking here.

Information related to America’s oil addition as discussed during our conversation are available from the following sources:

“The term Peak Oil refers to the maximum rate of the production of oil in any area under consideration, recognizing that it is a finite natural resource, subject to depletion.”

Colin Campbell, PhD
Founder and Honorary Chairman
Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas

Energy Sources and Consumption

  • Annual Energy Outlook, 2010 by the U.S. Energy Information Agency (released May 11, 2010)
  • Annual Energy Review, 2009 by the U.S. Energy Information Agency (published August 2010)

Peak Oil Projections

An impressive representation of the peak oil concept has been captured by The Oil Age Poster.

About the Author

Lewis Reynolds is author of America the Prisoner: The Implications of Foreign Oil Addiction and a Realistic Plan to End It. Lewis has spent years as a financial advisor and consultant to a wide range of companies, particularly in the energy industry. His billions of dollars worth of transaction and advisory experience, background in economics, and passionate desire to help renew America’s promise provide unique perspective on our energy dilemma. Working with pioneer energy companies, he has gained inside knowledge of the technologies that can change our world. To read Lewis’s full biography, click here.

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Leadership Inspirations – Not Wrong Yet Not Right

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“Just because you’re not wrong doesn’t make you right.”

Author Unknown

Agile Balance – What it is… What it does… How to get it, part 1 of 2

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Once upon a time, Jack led Jill up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Subsequently, they found the slope a bit slippery. There was a bit of a spill. After that crown-breaking calamity, Jack vowed to become so nimble that he could easily jump over any candlestick, lit or unlit.

Okay, so that’s not quite how the children’s storybook tells it. But, hopefully, like any good leader, Jack, learned from experience. Bouncing back from the fall, he was exposed to “Agile BalanceTM.” (Jill was quick to follow).

What is Agile Balance? Agile is defined as nimble or mentally quick. Balance is defined as steady, maintaining equilibrium or poise. So, Agile Balance might be defined as someone or something that is nimble, quick, steady and self-assured.

But that’s just the start.

When we peer into nature, perhaps viewing the plants and trees on the hill that Jack and Jill fell from, we won’t see a perfect moment of balance. We see Agile Balance. There is no stasis in nature. Change is constant and everywhere. Plants and animals are growing, waning or dying.

That’s the rhythm to life. And that’s the rhythm to great success, both organizationally and personally. That’s Agile Balance. There is no stasis in individuals or organizations. Whether growing, waning or dying, we change each day. And it’s our choice whether the struggle from that process makes us stronger, or nudges us along as we slip slide down the slope.

As they meet on the garden path in my book The Offsite: A Leadership Challenge Fable, guru/gardener Sam Arthur responds that he is “perfect” when Gwen Kelly asks the polite question, “How are you”. I’ve found that every reader defines Sam’s comment about “perfect” differently. Is it possible that Sam is talking about Agile Balance?

When thinking of Agile Balance, a few of the words that spring to mind are: strength, flexibility, speed, endurance and grace. These are just a few of the qualities everyone should seek and embrace as they reach for the results they desire around performance, productivity and profits.

Let’s take a deeper look at these qualities.

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About the Author

Robert Thompson is the author of The Offsite: A Leadership Challenge Fable. To learn more about Agile BalanceTM, contact Robert at [email protected], follow him on Twitter @RobertHThompson or subscribe to his Leadership Path newsletter at www.leaderinsideout.com.

Want to learn more about Robert Thompson and The Offsite? Listen to the StrategyDriven Podcast interview during which Robert shares with us his insights on the unique leadership challenges associated with today’s business environment.

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StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 45 – An Interview with Sharon Armstrong, author of The Essential Performance Review Handbook

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StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 45 – An Interview with Sharon Armstrong, author of The Essential Performance Review Handbook explores how to conduct personnel performance reviews that are a positive experience for employees and that helps them and the organization excel. During our discussion, Sharon Armstrong, author of The Essential Performance Review Handbook: A Quick and Handy Resource For Any Manager or HR Professional and Founder of Sharon Armstrong and Associates, shares with us her insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • what is at the heart of manager and employee anxiety over personnel performance reviews
  • why some managers and employees approach the performance review process with a high degree of cynicism
  • key principles and methods managers and employees should practice when preparing, executing, and following-up on performance reviews
  • the most effective periodicity for conducting performance reviews
  • how executives and managers can ensure performance ratings are consistently defined and applied

Additional Information

In addition to the outstanding insights Sharon shares in The Essential Performance Review Handbook and this special edition podcast are the resources accessible from her websites, www.SharonArmstrongAndAssociates.com and www.TheEssentialPerformanceReviewHandbook.com.   Sharon’s book, The Essential Performance Review Handbook, can be purchased by clicking here.

About the Author

Sharon Armstrong, author of The Essential Performance Review Handbook and The Essential HR Handbook, is the Founder of Sharon Armstrong and Associates. Sharon has served as director of human resources at a law firm and several other organizations in Washington, DC. Since launching her own consulting business in 1998, she has provided training and completed HR projects dealing with performance management design and implementation for a wide variety of clients. To read Sharon’s complete biography, click here.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:41 — 42.2MB)

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