Failure

This Week’s Fav Five Leadership Posts

By Brandon W. Jones on April 5, 2012 6

Each week I have a hard time finding the fav five posts because their are so many good leadership blogs. I feel I am only just beginning to see the number of good blogs out there. Here are the top five leadership blog posts I found this week.

Lessons From a Failure in Leadership by Gwyn Teatro

Burton Winters was a typical fourteen-year-old living with his parents in Makkovik, Labrador. Winter weather makes snow mobile driving a necessity there and, like most of the boys in his community, Burton was an experienced driver. One afternoon in February, he set out on his machine to visit his grandmother.

He didn’t make it home.

Somehow, in the dark and harsh weather, Burton missed a crucial turning and lost his bearings. Instead of going towards home, he and his machine headed out many miles onto the sea ice. Eventually, the machine became stuck and Burton continued on foot for another nineteen kilometres, all in the wrong direction. More…

Brandon’s Thoughts
In order to get the full understanding of the post, you need to read it because Gwyn tells a story and then explains the leadership lessons that came from what occurred. The post brings home the importance of making correct decisions as a leader. In line with what Gwyn said, I agree that leaders need to be willing to make the tough decisions in the face of adversity. They need to know and remember why they chose to be a leader. For leadership to be done right you must stand on your principles even when it isn’t easy. [Read more…] about This Week’s Fav Five Leadership Posts

Leaders, Stay Informed: Knowledge = Power!

By Brandon W. Jones on February 20, 2012 1

The old saying, “Knowledge = Power” is more true now than ever. In today’s economy, leaders everywhere must know what is happening in their industry and the economy as a whole. They must be up to date on trends and major changes coming. If leadership fails to stay on top of the trends, they can lose speed with their competition and possibly even their relevance.

Over the past few years, several companies have lost their relevancy because they failed to follow the trends of their industry and the economy. They lost pace with their competitors and either went of business or changed ownership.

There are also a few companies that have fallen into this trap but have not gone out of business yet, but they are struggling to survive. Some of the companies that fell into this trap are Blockbuster Video, Kodak, Circuit City, Mervyns, and Borders Books. I will explain the downfall of just two:

Blockbuster Video

Blockbuster Video has done a poor job of keeping up with the trends. As a result, they are struggling to survive and have filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. They were very popular for many years, but failed to keep pace with the competition. While their competition began renting DVDs from vending machines and allowing movie rentals directly to your TV and computer, Blockbuster maintained their brick and morter stores. Blockbuster’s video rental stores required high overhead costs to keep each location functioning with their personnel. [Read more…] about Leaders, Stay Informed: Knowledge = Power!

Ethics in the Workplace

By Brandon W. Jones on September 14, 2011 2

Within the business world each person has to continuously make choices related to ethics. It is an everyday part of life. In many fields ranging from the practice of law to engineering services there are codes of ethics to which people must adhere.

Code of Ethics – The License

In order to receive the professional license in a given field, individuals must sign the code stating they are willing to abide by its ethical standards. As part of the codes, they state how people should and should not behave on matters of ethics. They also state in many cases that a failure to adhere to the code will result in the revocation of the license.

As important as ethics are, there is no business code of ethics that must be signed in order to enter management. In order to be a manager, one does not have to sign a paper stating they will follow specific standards for the rest of their career.

A Missing Code

There is not a code of ethics for managers that must be signed prior to entering the management arena. Although most corporations have their own set of company policies and procedures, there is not a set standard through the business world. [Read more…] about Ethics in the Workplace

Leaders, Beware Of The Me Monster

By Brandon W. Jones on February 12, 2011 1

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QvSoRQrVJg]

I love the explanation Brian Regan gives of what the “me monster” is. I am sure everyone has had contact with a me monster before. Me monsters take the form of coworkers, bosses, subordinates, etc. Me monsters can be very destructive in an organization. The following are three reasons why me monsters are destructive:

1. Me monsters are in it for themselves.

When you have a me monster in your organization, they are only in it for themselves. They focus on themselves all the time. They only do things if it directly benefits them.

[Read more…] about Leaders, Beware Of The Me Monster

Poor Leadership, Part 1 of 2

By Brandon W. Jones on January 9, 2011 5

I recently talked to my brother-in-law, Dan, and he relayed a very interesting story to me relating to poor leadership. Sometime ago he worked for a very well-known company. While working there, he had an experience that really stunted his career progress for quite some time.

The Start of Poor Leadership

The story started when he got a new supervisor. The new supervisor had been with the company about the same amount of time as Dan. Dan and the new supervisor both interviewed for the supervisor position, but the new supervisor, John, received the position instead of Dan. Prior to the supervisor transition, Dan was ready for a promotion with his previous supervisor. Dan was very concerned that with the transition, he would not receive the promotion very quickly.

In order to help John transition into his new position, Dan offered his help in any way possible. Dan also did all he could to show his leadership abilities by taking on several new responsibilities that were above and beyond his current job description. [Read more…] about Poor Leadership, Part 1 of 2

Dissension in the Ranks at Nordstrom

By Brandon W. Jones on February 28, 2010 0

The system at Nordstrom was a failed system. It did not reward the employees based on the hours that the employees put in. There are three areas that the company went wrong.

Three Downfalls of Nordstrom’s Approach

First, it didn’t let the employees know upfront what kind of hours they would be expected to work. Second, it had an overly strong competition between the sales associates within the stores. And third, their pay structure was broken. All three of the above points illustrate that the system was broken.

1. Nordstrom’s Compensation System

As the first point indicates, Nordstrom would hire people under a specific set of duties and responsibilities and expect a completely different set. The managers wouldn’t explain how the compensation system was going to be set up based on the sales per hour structure. Once the employee was hired on, they would then expect them to work extra hours without pay or they would give them bad reviews as not being a team player. [Read more…] about Dissension in the Ranks at Nordstrom