One of the enduring mysteries of corporate life is how much communication (in the form of presentations, speeches, documents etc.) is simply diabolically constructed, written and delivered. I have seen so much cack disguised as communication, it beggars… more »

For some time, I have been wrestling with why I was unable to communicate as effectively as I wanted to using PowerPoint, which, for better or worse, has become the de facto standard for visual slide-based presentations in modern corporations (and it eve… more »

Corporations are notorious for creating and disseminating the usage of buzz-words or phrases which attempt to convert a potentially unpalatable concept to one that sounds either neutral or positive. In the worst case, this tips over the line into Orwelli… more »

More excellent definitions from Fad Surfing In The Boardroom: Blame The living embodiment of the principle that it is indeed better to give than to receive. Exogenous variables What got us into trouble. Not to be confused with management decision… more »

Pessimist (n) An optimist in full possession of the facts. You can slide further on bullshit than on gravel Old saleperson's saying more »

From Eileen Shapiro's excellent book "Fad Surfing in the Boardroom", I offer this collection of Wednesday definitions for aspiring managers, leaders and sage observers of corporate life: Accountability A characteristic of which everybody else in this… more »

...from this study done in Europe at the University of Bonn. It is written in research-speak, so it may be a bit difficult to wade through. It is about the results of game experiments where differing modes of motivation were tried on work teams. In a s… more »

One of the more interesting (and intractable) issues which we all encounter from time to time is working with people who for some reason, seem to be sources of negative energy. Worse still, working with them seems to drain the life from you. An excelle… more »