"How to Be a Good Boss in a Bad Economy" Featured in the New HBR

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12 Things I Believe

1. Sometimes the best management is no management at all -- first do no harm!
2. Indifference is as important as passion.
3. Saying smart things and giving smart answers are important. Learning to listen to others and to ask smart questions is more important.
4. You get what you expect from people. This is especially true when it comes to selfish behavior; unvarnished self-interest is a learned social norm, not an unwavering feature of human behavior.
5. Avoid pompous jerks whenever possible. They not only can make you feel bad about yourself, chances are that you will eventually start acting like them.
6. Anyone can learn to be creative, it just takes a lot of practice and little confidence
7. "Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong."
8. Sutton's Law: “If you think that you have a new idea, you are wrong. Someone else probably already had it. This idea isn’t original either; I stole it from someone else”
9. "Am I a success or a failure?" is not a very useful question
10. The world would be a better place if people slept more and took more naps
11. Strive for simplicity and competence, but embrace the confusion and messiness along the way.
12. Jimmy Maloney is right, work is an overrated activity.

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"How to Be a Good Boss in a Bad Economy" Featured in the New HBR

The folks at Harvard Business Review told me that "How to Be a Good Boss in a Bad Economy" would be "sort of" the lead article in the June issue. I am not entirely sure what that means, but I thank them for making it so prominent on their cover. My initial reaction to the cover was to flinch as it is disconcerting, but as one CEO I know said, unfortunately, it is spot on because it reflects how so many people are feeling during these tough times. I already blogged a bit about some of the themes developed in the article in Of Baboons and Bosses, and will put-up more thoughts over the next couple weeks. Also, stay tuned because HBR will be sending me a link, I think next week, so I will be able to give away 100 copies, which I will do here as soon as I can. I haven't seen the issue, but I am a huge fan of both Rod Kramer, Joel Podolny, James O'Toole, and of course, the famous and charming Warren Bennis. Also, I note that all four five of us live in California. HBR has been accused of being overly disposed to publish articles from Harvard Business School faculty -- perhaps they also have a pro-California bias! Although Joel's last job was being a dean Yale, he is now at Apple, so is back in California.

May 21, 2009 in Bosses | Permalink

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Congratulations!

Posted by: Sophie Lagace | May 22, 2009 at 08:36 AM

Congratulations, Bob!

Posted by: metacool | May 22, 2009 at 07:57 AM

That's a fantastic "sort of" lead if I ever saw one. And it is indeed spot on. Can't wait to read the article.

Posted by: Matthew E. May | May 21, 2009 at 03:26 PM

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