Management Archives

Ethical Workplace Behavior: Don’t Leave Gray Areas

Are your employees clear about the ethical expectations at your company? Are you consistently upholding behavior boundaries? CEO and venture capitalist Ben Horowitz draws on historical examples to show how you can provide cultural leadership in your organization. For lessons on ethical workplace behavior, Horowitz looks to Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture, who shows us that we must not leave ethical gray areas. Keep reading to learn more about shaping ethical workplace behavior.

How to Prioritize Tasks in the Workplace

Trying to figure out how to prioritize tasks in the workplace? How can the Scrum method help you decide which tasks should be tackled first? If you have so many tasks at work that you’re overwhelmed, try using Jeff Sutherland’s Scrum method. In his book Scrum, Sutherland teaches readers how to organize their projects by figuring out which tasks will have the biggest impact. Here’s how to organize and prioritize your tasks.

How to Create an Inclusive Culture at Your Workplace

When hiring, do you look for particular people or particular skills? When leading, do you give everyone a chance to thrive? In What You Do Is Who You Are, Ben Horowitz looks to Genghis Khan for lessons on cultivating intentional culture. He identifies three tips for how to create an inclusive culture: take the lead, look for specific skills rather than specific people, and give everyone the opportunity to succeed. Keep reading for three ways to create an inclusive culture in the workplace.

The Importance of Happiness in the Workplace

Does happiness in the workplace matter? How can you measure the happiness levels of your employees? Management expert Jeff Sutherland argues in his book Scrum that happiness in the workplace is essential. He explains that happy employees are more productive and creative, therefore managers and team leaders should be making sure their teams are happy. Continue reading to learn how to measure and increase workplace happiness.

Tips for Finding and Retaining Top Talent

Does it feel like many of your applicants are underqualified? How can you find and retain talent at your company? With such a competitive job market, there’s an abundance of applicants to sift through. The problem is that it’s difficult to tell which of those applicants would be a good fit for your company. Additionally, once you’ve chosen to hire someone, it can be just as challenging to keep them. Here are some tips on finding and retaining talent from the book Execution.

The 3 Company Virtues Every Business Should Have

Do people in your organization feel free to air their concerns? Do they trust each other? In What You Do Is Who You Are, Ben Horowitz draws lessons from samurai warriors on how to develop your organizational virtues. While he believes that you should choose virtues that are customized to your company, he argues that all organizations should have these three virtues: trust, freedom to speak freely, and loyalty. Here are the details on these three essential company virtues.

Toyota: Lean Manufacturing at the Factory Level

How does Toyota use lean manufacturing at the factory level? How does it make production more efficient? In The Toyota Way, engineering professor and lean manufacturing consultant Jeffrey Liker describes the work practices known as lean manufacturing. Liker uses Toyota’s use of lean manufacturing to show how it works. Below we’ll look at how Toyota’s lean manufacturing is implemented at the modeling stage.

What Are the Functions of a Leader in Business?

Leadership: What are the Major Traits of a Good Leader

What are the functions of a leader? What are some of the common mistakes leaders make? According to business leaders and specialists Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan, a leader must perform three functions to be successful. A good leader will find and keep talent, set realistic goals, and create tactical plans that work. Here’s an overview of the functions of a business leader.

How the Scrum Sprint Cycle Helps Maximize Time

Do you have trouble maximizing time at your workplace? How can the Scrum Sprint cycle help your team use their time more efficiently? Sprints are fixed lengths of time, usually one or two weeks, in which the team works on a particular task or tasks. Scrum Sprints are where the work gets done, where value is created, and where people turn ideas into reality. Here’s a look at the benefits of the Scrum Sprint cycle.

4 Samurai Culture Lessons for the Workplace

What was samurai culture like? What aspects of it should be applied to organizational culture? Ben Horowitz believes business leaders should follow the samurai’s example of intentionally defining foundational beliefs coupled with instructions for everyday behavior. We’ll explore Horowitz’s four lessons from the samurai honor code as well as examples from the business world. Keep reading for details on these actionable values from samurai culture.