One of the most difficult challenges in business is to innovate from within a large organization, where each department and division competes for resources and attention. These internal forces exert a powerful drag, yet some companies seem able to overcome this and successfully produce and employ new ideas. In this his fourth article in the series, Professor Neal Thornberry shows us how an entrepreneurial manager worked to overcome many obstacles inside giant IBM and successfully built a new business line. December 2007

By Prof. Neal Thornberry;

Most of us who manage people have had difficult subordinates. Often the greater their ability, the more irritating or disruptive they may be to the work of your organization. But you can’t succeed without them, so how can you influence their behavior? Drawn from the book Influence Without Authority, this article examines the factors that affect your ability to influence subordinates, some practical approaches to consider using in your work situations and reviews two case examples that put these concepts to work. June 2007.

By Professors Allan Cohen & David L. Bradford;

In the last of his recent interview series Southwest Airlines Executive Chairman Herb Kelleher speaks with the Insight about the challenges faced by the airline in its early entrepreneurial years as they worked to create a new market segment in air travel, how they managed the strategy, people and growth as the company transitioned to become a large organization, and his thoughts about the future of his famous company. In closing, we present our own view of Southwest Airlines people, culture and strategy drawn from a field visit with one of their airport operations. July 2005

By Professor Allan Cohen, James Watkinson and Jenny Boone;

Over the last 30+ years there has been only one airline that has showed strong growth and been consistently profitable: Southwest Airlines. In a business where execution is everything, whether its customer service, operations, or marketing, success depends on committed people who make it all work every day. How do Southwest’s people do it? We spoke to Herb Kelleher recently about his people-focused company and he talked candidly about how the company builds its people into leaders, the important elements of Southwest’s people-culture, what makes it work and how is it sustained. March 2005.

By Professor Allan Cohen, James Watkinson and Jenny Boone;

Supportive Confrontation is a powerful way of reducing or eliminating interpersonal tensions that can bog down a workplace or any setting in which people come together to solve problems or achieve goals. In this part 2 of our summary from the book Power Up, Professors Cohen and Bradford identify the four basic Influence Approaches to Supportive Confrontation and provide guidelines for choosing the right approach for your situation. November 2006

by Prof. Allan Cohen and David Bradford;

Internal coaching is one of the fastest growing trends in leadership development. It may also be one of the most cost effective. What does it take for an organization to achieve benefits from building an internal coaching capability? In this article, Prof. James Hunt and Joseph Weintraub describe important lessons learned from their research and work with organizations that have successfully implemented internal coaching programs to promote employee and leadership development. September 2006

Professors James Hunt & Joe Weintraub;

If product and technology innovation starts with someone that disagrees with the acceptability of current solutions, then we can’t be surprised that Dean Kamen thrives on it. He and his team at DEKA Research have used a contentious, non-corporate approach to innovation that has produced a stellar record of results, including creation of the first wearable medical infusion pump, the portable dialysis machine and the Segway Human Transport. Read on and learn more about this inventive rebel and the way he leads innovation. August 2006

Prof. Allan Cohen, Prof. Jay Rao and BI Staff;

Wherever people work together there will be conflict and sometimes these result in difficult confrontations that do significant harm to the people involved and their organizations. What if there was a way to constructively use confrontations that would help to overcome the immediate problem, while building stronger future relationships? Professors Cohen and Bradford call this the art of “Supportive Confrontation” and present methods to use it for resolving interpersonal tensions in the workplace and enhancing joint problem-solving. July 2006

by Prof. Allan Cohen and David Bradford;

Leadership is getting tougher, and will continue to do so. Human Resources managers must form a new partnership with leaders. This month Prof. Cohen reviews some of the forces at work creating this change and the steps HR must take to adapt for success.

Prof. Allan R. Cohen & David R. Bradford;

As a nation we were dealt a painful blow on Sept. 11, but there are leadership lessons to be learned from these jolting changes. Professor Kassarjian talks this month about how leaders can foster learning for change from such jolts and how we can learn to face the unexpected.

By J.B. Kassarjian;

Despite all that we've heard about the role of strong leadership, Professor Kassarjian bursts the bubble by describing how real change originates with front-line managers. Read this month about the real truths of change and how you must reshape your leadership style and role to foster change.

J.B. Kassarjian;

Employees at every level of the organization need to take initiative—to conceive, to inspire, and to initiate change. In short, to lead. What is needed today, more than ever before, is entrepreneurial leadership. Professor Cohen previews his new book on the subject by reviewing a successful example of a how a General Foods division used innovative operating structures and processes to create an entire facility of shop floor leaders, who in turn consistently out-produced other plants. Read more to learn the specific tools and approaches that can help create an entrepreneurial culture at your company. October 2004.

Prof. Allan Cohen;

By Prof. Allan Cohen and David Bradford.Even if you have the greatest ideas business is so complex today that you can't succeed without the help of many people who you must influence. Yet it's so hard to create and maintain influence. This month we're providing another abstract from Prof. Cohen and Bradford's new book Influence Without Authority focusing on methods and cases for gaining influence with your colleagues? Some of the issues covered include: the traps that can trip you up and handling interpersonal issues and reciprocity? June 2005.

;

How can you gain more responsibility, get coaching, gain acceptance for your ideas and make disagreements more manageable? The starting point is to create a partnering relationship with your boss. Many business professionals are surprised to learn that they are responsible for making their boss a better manager. In a very real sense you and your boss are partners in success. This month we’ve excerpted a chapter on influencing your boss from the new edition of Influence Without Authority . Here you’ll find highlights that show how you can overcome a variety of common problems and build a mutually beneficial relationship with the boss. Concrete examples drawn from real-world situations and case studies are used to illustrate principles and concepts providing a blueprint for building your influence skills by becoming a partner with your boss. April 2005.

Chapter highlights from a book by Allan Cohen and David Bradford;

Some people are surprised to learn that many entrepreneurs work successfully in larger, established companies. Among them is a particular type of leader we call explorers, who take an active role in the market paying attention to the latest trends, competitor moves, and customer opportunities. Their efforts often produce industry or market changing new business ventures. In this article Prof. Thornberry reviews the nature of entrepreneurial explorers through the story of John Kilcullen’s success in creating the Dummies book series. June 2006

Prof. Neal Thornberry and Insight staff;

New ideas are the lifeblood of competitive advantage, but how do successful people find new ideas and move them to fruition. Where do they search? Once found, how do they package an idea for acceptance? And lastly, how do they advocate and turn the idea into action?

Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak;

You know who they are, those executives that everybody seems to love to work for. They always get the plum assignments and the CEO loves them because they seem to have the best people working for them, people who end up going places in the company. What makes them effective? They are Coaching Managers and here's how you can begin to learn their skills and approaches.

Prof. James M. Hunt and Joseph Weintraub;

Regardless of the jobs you’ve held, its almost certain that you’ve struggled in pursuing a solution that someone, somewhere in your organization almost certainly had the knowledge to quickly resolve, or the ideas that could open up an opportunity. Despite all of our technology companies still face this knowledge logjam. What stops knowledge from spreading? This month Prof. Cohen reviews his personal experience in helping those needing knowledge to find those who have it and getting those in-the-know interacting with those who need ideas and solutions?

Prof. Allan Cohen;

What does it take to build great customer service and experiences? According to Colleen Barrett at Southwest Airlines the answer is not in creating pages of rules, but rather in the way you treat your people. How do they make this work and how do they keep the spirit alive throughout the more than 30 cities served and across more than 30,000 employees? Well, she says you have to work at it every single day, but we’ll let Colleen tell you in her own unique way. April 2006

Prof. Allan Cohen, Prof. Jay Rao and Insight staff;

Do you have an idea for a new product, or a way to enhance your customer’s experiences, or a method for improving operating efficiencies? Are you using the best approach to succeed as a leader of innovative ideas? As Prof. Neal Thornberry reveals in his new book, Lead Like An Entrepreneur, the answer depends on where you choose to look for new ideas, the type of opportunities you’re seeking and the role you take in moving these ideas forward. Together, these factors combine to form 4 distinct leadership types, each of which fit different company environments and goals. In this article, our first in a series drawn from the book, we begin to summarize aspects of the entrepreneurial mindset and describe the four types of innovation leaders and their methods. March 2006

Prof. Neal Thornberry and Insight staff;

Change, change, change. Management is constantly seeking change, yet most companies fail to convert these efforts into real value-creating results. This month Prof. Phil Dover reviews the change agent program at a well-known company to identify useful learning points.

Prof. Phil Dover;

Without objective feedback even talented executives can easily end up losing the synergy that can be achieved through effective teamwork. Although we often encourage people to take the initiative, without the touchstone of good feedback this autonomy can pull an organization apart. Prof. Hunt suggests there are several practices that can be used to make management teams work.

James M. Hunt;

How do you foster entrepreneurship in your mainstream business? Prof. Cohen speaks this month about the fact that leaders are not just those at the top; they can and must be in all kinds of jobs throughout the organization.

Prof. Allan Cohen;

We've all been there...you see a great opportunity, but you're a middle manager, not the division or corporate President, so you lack the direct authority and resources to implement your ideas and affect change. How do you lead the top people and your peers to successful change? Listen to Prof. Cohen describe the keys to getting your ideas heard, gaining support and building your leadership role.

Prof. Allan Cohen;

In the face of the many infamous management failures of the last two years, executives today need to follow new rules in their communcations with staff, Wall Street and outsider to avoid a crisis of confidence that can sink themselves and their companies. Read this months insights on the seven tenets for enhancing the relevance, clarity and transparency of your corporate communications.

;

In tough economic times its always easy for a company to hunker down and avoid all risks such as new innovative ideas. Do new ideas in business really matter? Is there an identifiable link between new ideas and company performance? If ideas really do matter, is the current economic draught the result of or lengthened by a lack of the next wave of innovative ideas? Regardless of your opinion new ideas are always popping up in your business and you'll want to be prepared to insure that only the best move forward.

Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak;

As the Welch era ends at GE we are prompted to ask: How will the use of power and influence change in the 21st century? There are some recent trends that point to coming changes. What do you think? Professor Allan Cohen will provide commentary next month on the observations of our readers and the challenges they face.

;

Prof. Kassarjian has received many questions asking for amplifications on important issues faced by leaders who are engaged in creating change within their organizations. Here you will find important questions from readers and answers from the Professor that may be helpful for many readers.

J. B. Kassarjian;

How do you improve your teams performance? How do you improve your own organizational reach and power? How do you draw in the best people? How do you build your best people? Coaching can do all this and more. This month we introduce several key concepts and benefits behind the important skill of being a good coach in your professional relationships.

James Hunt & Joe Weintraub;

Companies battle to create competitively superior value for the “best” employees, customers, investors, and communities. A closer look at 1,500 companies measured according to Value Leadership criteria suggests there is a clear connection between a company’s ability to create value in its relationships and the relative rate of return which that company delivers to its investors. Learn more this month about the seven management principals that create superior returns through Value Leadership.

Peter Cohan;