Archive for Business

Night of the Living Dead, VUCA, and Strangling Tangles

This past Halloween, my husband and I locked ourselves in our darkened home, and watched a dvd of  Night of the Living Dead. I had never seen it before and to be honest, I can’t say that I truly watched the whole thing. I spent part of the movie hidden under a blanket! If you [...]

Warning Signs that you have a Jangle TangleTM—Compliments of Brothers and Sisters

Thank goodness for TiVo. My husband and I love it to catch up our favorite television shows. One, Brothers and Sisters is an ABC drama about an exceptionally close, yet dysfunctional family. Sally Fields plays Norah Walker, the matriarch. Norah has five adult children, each with their own lives and own dramas. As I watched [...]

How to Build a Culture of Fear in 3 Easy Steps

Leaders, follow these three easy steps if you want to ensure that tough issues are never raised, that you don’t receive early warning signs, and that employees are seen and not heard. If you follow these steps faithfully, you and your executive team will hold all the power. You will be secure in your conference [...]

Beware: The Shadow of the Leader Can Become the Shadow of the Gang

I once had a boss who used to tell our national sales force, “The speed of the leader is the speed of the gang.” In my work as an executive consultant, coach, and “detangler,” I have met some incredibly brilliant and talented leaders. All of them were exceptional in some way, and all had areas [...]

What Leaders Can Learn from Michael Jackson

I was stunned when I heard about Michael Jackson’s untimely death last week. As a huge Thriller fan,  I remember watching Jackson and being captivated by his music, his dancing, and his beat. He really was a musical genius. I never paid too much to the tabloid headlines swirling around his life. However, in the [...]

What Leaders Can Learn from Twitter, Facebook, and #Iran Election?

For the past ten days, I have been glued to the media and social networking sites, especially Twitter. I am not alone.  I have been awed by the level of interest, caring, and actions taken by so many after the June 12 election. As I sat in my office, watching my computer screen, I felt [...]

What’s Divorce Got to Do with It?

Tina Turner made a singing comeback in 1984 with her hit song, “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” My husband, a family law specialist in San Francisco has recently worked with some male clients, who I call alpha males, struggling through their respective divorces. Tina Turner claims that “love is a second-hand emotion.” However, [...]

Active Listening Tips for Avoiding Strangling TanglesTM

A Strangling TangleTM paralyzes organizations and can lead to plummeting profits, lost revenue, and precipitous falls in market share. There are a number of causes for Strangling Tangles. Based on my experience and research, organizations with corporate cultures that discourage speaking up and sharing bad news are particularly vulnerable. Leaders play a huge role in [...]

Are Your Emotional Intelligence Habits Saving or Sinking You?

According to recent studies, executive leaders who possess emotional intelligence are more likely to outperform their peers than those with high intellectual horsepower. In other words, it is not enough to just be smart. A leader needs to be intellectually smart and people smart.
I have worked with a number of executive leaders who have risen [...]

Return the AIG Bonuses–No Pay for Non-Performance

photo credit: Ryan Forsythe
This past Sunday, I was so upset about the AIGbonuses that I wrote a letter to the editors of the San Francisco  Chronicle and New York Times. I received a call from the Chronicle’s editorial section on Monday, saying that they planned to run my letter. I am happy to [...]

Next Page »

Marcia Ruben, Ph.D., CMC

Get updates in your inbox:

Delivered by FeedBurner