I remember that, 20 years ago, the think tank advising the Government of an advanced thinking European country, had asked a famous consultancy to help them reflect on ways to reverse the flow of labour intensive work towards cheaper Asian countries. The consultants had come back with a rather unconventional and counter intuitive suggestion: All residents in the country should…

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Jan Carlzon was C.E.O. of S.A.S., the Swedish national airline, which he has been widely credited for saving. One of his most famous legacy was the concept of identifying and performing on the “Moments of Truth” that S.A.S. employees would have with their customers. Following him, the company had 50’000 such moments/day. We, as leaders, are presented with such crucial…

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Chances are that your “winning formula” (i.e. what you are praised for, what people value, expect and reinforce in you by their feedback) makes you a Content Leader, particularly if you are in the early stages of your career, if you are a specialist recognized for your technical, artistic or scientific knowledge. If you have taken over a new job,…

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This Monday morning, I knew something bad had happened when, switching on my mobile, it did not stop ringing, announcing all sorts of messages frenetically arriving. And the news was immensely sad: A client I admired and loved very dearly, had apparently decided to “draw the curtain”, aged only 44, leaving behind a shattered widow, an inconsolable young son and…

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