Today we find ourselves limping from one crisis to another. And we cut, and cut, and cut. We cut costs (a necessity); we cut personnel (a tragedy); we cut hopes (a mistake) – and in the end, we cut the fun out of our lives (a disaster!). Who can take five years of this? Professional [...]

To pass the storm, your team must hold together! End of a stunning year and heading to uncertainty. The right moment to prepare for the 12 months to come: aim at high performance with an engaged team, make use of your team experience, business opportunities and be well equipped to affront potential difficulties ahead. As [...]

The moment I set foot in Biarritz Airport, I sensed something was wrong. Just an impression, a hint of anxiety… and then it hit me. Hard. I had left my Blackberry in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. “Oh darling,” I said, turning to my wife, “guess what!” “What?” “I forgot my Blackberry!” She looked at me, stunned, ashen. “Oh, [...]

The acquisition has been signed! The big multinational (let’s call it Huge Inc) has finally acquired the smaller niche-market company (we’ll call it Small Inc) in order to pursue its strategic diversification. Small Inc teams are interested but not overjoyed even though it means much needed development resources. After all, many of the Small Inc [...]

Swans are white. They just are. So when a black swan shows up, it feels strange. The unexpected always feels strange. Since Nassim Nicholas Taleb wrote his book, it seems that we have moved from one Black Swan to the other. A Black Swan, he says, is “an event, positive or negative, that is deemed [...]

I’m struck by the fact that some companies still send people to key positions abroad without ensuring they have the skills to survive in a totally different world and be successful. Of course it often doesn’t work. And the mistake is hugely expensive. Making it internationally takes a whole lot more than making the numbers [...]

A few months ago, UBS (ex Union de Banques Suisses before it merged with SBS) made it hard in the international press by releasing a complete and precise printed Dress Code with an aim to making sure all of its personnel would match the corporate style and client-centered values in its attire. Everyone laughed at [...]

“I have one hierarchical boss, two functional ones whom I hardly know, and I’m part of three or four Strategic Global Initiative teams, two of them operating remotely, and I sometimes wonder if in a near future I’ll still be able to find my way back to my own bedroom… Not to think about how [...]

I know a few organizations where the way to get ahead is to be taken under the wing of a senior leader—someone based at headquarters, hundreds of kilometers away. I’m not saying this is a role model for talent development, but for those who’ve taken the time to cultivate their networks and relationships, it works. [...]

An old proverb says that “literature proliferates in the empty spaces of societies”. In other words, we discuss and re-discuss our weak points – the things we consider are missing in our environment and what we should be aiming for. If we look at it in those terms, the absolute LDH (Leadership Development Hysteria) that [...]