Influencing and Problem Solving for Leaders and Others Mike Lehr's Blog

Education Bias (Pt 5): Understanding vs. Appreciation

Posted on29 Apr 2013

Tagsappreciation, education, Education Bias Series, people, understanding

Comments0

Someone once asked, “Mike, do you think people understand you?” “No,” I answered. “Does that bother you?” “No.” “Why not?” “Well, it’s very difficult, if...

Change Management Strategy #5: Two Pictures of Change

Posted on25 Apr 2013

Tagslinear change model, cyclical change model, creative distruction, analogy, change, change management, genetic code, Harvard Business Review, history, motion, Change Management Strategy Series, Man-Woman-Child Change Analogy

Comments3

For any change management strategy, it’s important to identify how we and the culture we’re impacting conceptually picture change. This helps us manage expectations. While...

America’s Faith-based Economy

Posted on22 Apr 2013

TagsAmerican, United States, faith-based economy, Poland, The Economist, religion, personal, objectivity, neoclassical economics, money, behavioral economics

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When I read articles like “Toss a Coin” (The Economist, January 12, 2013 edition), I’m reminded that our economy relies on faith. After all, as...

Top Seven Sun Tzu Quotes: #7 Effective Orders

Posted on18 Apr 2013

Tagschange, command, employees, executive, formal organizational power, leadership, morale, organization, Pollyannaism, prioritization, success, Sun Tzu, The Art of War, Sun Tzu Top 7 Quotes Series, machismo

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Responses to my original Sun Tzu post have encouraged me to write more about important Sun Tzu quotes from The Art of War. At number...

Natural Mistake of Grouping

Posted on15 Apr 2013

Tagscomplexity, group, illusion, knowledge, people's differences, Personality, problem solving, Talent, unique, individual, Fast Food Knowledge Analogy, simplification

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Look at the figure to the right. The top is a multicolored square, the bottom a gray one. Yet, only one single attribute distinguishes the...

Change Management Strategy #4: Change Jobs, Reduce Tenure

As we acquire knowledge and experience, we tend to become wedded to the status quo. Tenure compounds this effect as Xueming Luo, Vamsi Kanuri, and...

Your Brain, the Final Frontier

“Space, the final frontier” introduced Star Trek’s original series, but assessments of our human knowledge indicate that the space between our ears is more of...

Groups as Enemies of Individuals

Posted on04 Apr 2013

Tagsbehavior, creativity, organizational culture, emotions, group, honesty, peer pressure, Stanford Prison Experiment, team building, unique, individual, United States Constitution, Lancelot, Round Table

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We form groups every day, some formal, others informal. The idea that groups are often enemies of individuals comes from two facts: People tend to...

Reducing Dependency on Talent through Rules

Posted on01 Apr 2013

Tagsadaptability, Adam Davidson, The Atlantic, Talent, rules, process management, process, logic, instructions, flexibility, employees, organizational culture, computers

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Rules are a form of logic especially when used in a series to form instructions. A step builds on the former step and sets up...

Leaders, Followers, Individuals and Heroes

Posted on28 Mar 2013

TagsLone Ranger, heroes, archetype, individual, Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Dirty Harry, power, leadership, informal organizational power, formal organizational power

Comments6

“If you’re not a leader, you’re a follower.” You’ve heard this how many times? Yet, there is a third: people who don’t want to be...

My 300th Post: Thank You for Your Encouragement, Motivation

Posted on25 Mar 2013

TagsThank You Series, bloggers, emotional self defense, encourage, Facebook, motivation, sensitive people, social media, Thank You, Twitter

Comments12

Unlike my 100th and 200th posts, I knew my 300th would arrive. This year saw substantial jump in visitors, so it’s like this: before if...

Intelligence vs. Wisdom (Pt 2): Magical Difference

Posted on21 Mar 2013

Comments2

As I had posted earlier, one cannot be wise without sensitivity to the human condition. This means wisdom has innate, emotional, intangible and synergistic attributes,...

Change Management Strategy #3: Keywords

Posted on18 Mar 2013

TagsInfluence, Newt Gingrich, Republican Party, Democratic Party, Change Management Strategy Series, The Daily Show, words, Velten Mood Induction Procedure, strategy, resistance to change, politics, personification, Painting Analogy, change, anchoring

Comments0

Setting the mood – by talking about change before we announce it – is a change management tactic. Behind this though is a strategic backdrop...

Psychopaths, Sociopaths and Differences for the Workplace

Posted on14 Mar 2013

Tagsemployees, management, objectivity, power, psychopaths, relationships, The Bad Sleep Well, Kevin Dutton, sociopaths, Psychopath in Workplace Series

Comments15

Classical management theory is very silent on the influence of personality in business, especially psychopaths and sociopaths who can and do exist in business, as...

Stories as Inhibitors of Change, Innovation

Posted on11 Mar 2013

Tagsopinions, change, change management, dissent, facts, history, ideas, Influence, innovation, Northwestern University, adaptability, question, rationale, storytelling, The New Yorker, thinking process, think outside the box, George Packer, Dan McAdams

Comments0

Stories galvanize people, helping them to learn, to coalesce around ideas. If we look at this galvanization as solidification, we can also see how stories...

Mike Lehr’s Blog

Education Bias (Pt 5): Understanding vs. Appreciation

Change Management Strategy #5: Two Pictures of Change

America’s Faith-based Economy

Top Seven Sun Tzu Quotes: #7 Effective Orders

Your Brain, the Final Frontier

Reducing Dependency on Talent through Rules

Leaders, Followers, Individuals and Heroes

Intelligence vs. Wisdom (Pt 2): Magical Difference

Change Management Strategy #3: Keywords

Stories as Inhibitors of Change, Innovation

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