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

Our Personalities: Crashing Others’ Expectations

Posted on01 Oct 2012

TagsA Few Good Men, objectivity, University of North Carolina, truth, The Economist, technology, robots, reality, rationale, Personality, Kurt Gray, illusion, humans, Harvard University, euphemisms, Daniel Wegner, organizational culture, computers

Comments0

As computers and robots are able to perform more of the mental and physical tasks of humans, we are finding they can become more unnerving...

Creative Innovation (Pt 8): Guidelines over Rules

Posted on27 Sep 2012

Tagsfeelings, words, University of California Berkeley, Thoughts, rules, resistance to change, Matthew Feinberg, innovation, Influence, employees, organizational culture, creativity, Creative Innovation Series, Charlan Nemeth, change

Comments5

The culture we develop greatly influences employees. An innovative culture will encourage employees to be innovative. All right, how do we do that? Charlan Nemeth’s...

Over Thinking Decisions (Pt 2): Warning Signs

Posted on24 Sep 2012

Tagsthinking process, success, Stanford University, Performance, Over Thinking Series, Intelligent Life, innovation, information, Ian Leslie, expectations, decisions, creativity, Claude Steele

Comments2

In Part I, I introduced Over Thinking (OT) referencing Ian Leslie’s article, “Non Cogito, Ergo Sum,” (Intelligent Life, May/June 2012 edition) and highlighting how it...

Intuition in Problem Solving: A Compass

Posted on20 Sep 2012

Tagsaction, cognition, feeling of knowing, focus, Influence, intuition, knowledge, planning, problem solving, process, process management, rationale, spontaneous, synchronicity, thinking process, think outside the box, Thoughts

Comments4

Someone once said to me that you can’t find your way if you don’t know where you are. I countered that that would mean a...

Creative Innovation (Pt 7): Conflict

Posted on17 Sep 2012

TagsMatthew Feinberg, Personality, The New Yorker, University of California Berkeley, management, brainstorming, Charlan Nemeth, China, conflict, conflict management, Creative Innovation Series, creativity, dissent, innovation, Jonah Lehrer

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While we’ve discussed the benefit of dissenters and disruptive personalities with respective to creativity and innovation, I’ve implied conflict but have not addressed it directly....

Plug ‘n Play Employees: Not Enough Qualified People

Posted on13 Sep 2012

Tagsemployees, information technology, James Surowiecki, Peter Cappelli, pigeonholing, skills, Talent, technology, The New Yorker, training, Wharton

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How many times have employers exclaimed, “It’s so difficult to find qualified people”? Well, James Surowiecki’s article, “Mind the Gap” (The New Yorker, July 9...

Emotional Intelligence vs. Intuition (Pt 3): Problem Solving

Posted on10 Sep 2012

TagsThoughts, social skills, problem solving, intuition, Influence, feeling of knowing, Emotional Intelligence vs Intuition Series, emotional intelligence

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One difference I pointed out in my original post between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and intuition was problem solving. Deeper examination of this difference further helps...

Extroverted vs. Introverted Leaders – The Important Point

Posted on06 Sep 2012

Tagsconditionality, Wharton, University of Pennsylvania, The Atlantic, Susan Cain, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, leadership, Jr., Jack Welch, introvert, extrovert, organizational culture, business, Adam Gant, Abraham Lincoln, 12 Most

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American business culture tends to prize extroverted traits over introverted ones. One online survey of 1,500 senior business leaders found that 65% saw introversion as...

Creative Innovation (Pt 6): People Mix

Posted on03 Sep 2012

Tagsdissent, The New Yorker, team intelligence, team building, sensitive people, relationships, people's differences, people, Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management, Jonah Lehrer, innovation, group, creativity, Creative Innovation Series, Brian Uzzi

Comments1

In previous posts of this series, I covered accepting disruptive personalities, allowing spontaneity and creating conditions for interactions. Underlying these are people. These are processes...

DANGER! Over Thinking Decisions

Posted on30 Aug 2012

TagsMax Panck Institute, knowledge, investing, intuition, Intelligent Life, information, Ian Leslie, Gerd Gigerenzer, decisions, decision-making process, Choice, problem solving, thinking process, rats

Comments0

Once upon a time, long, long ago, when I used to take standardized tests, the recommendation was to go with your first choice if you...

Emotional Intelligence vs. Intuition (Pt 2): Distinct as Head and Heart

Posted on27 Aug 2012

Tagsheady, Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence, Emotional Intelligence vs Intuition Series, emotions, empathy, feelings, Influence, intelligence, knowledge, matter of the head, matter of the heart, rationale, understanding

Comments1

Part #1 established a very broad framework for discussing the differences between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Intuition. People often wonder if one is merely a...

Change Management – Tactic #8: Management by Walking Around

No matter how detailed and passionate someone describes his vacation to you, nothing compares to being there. The same holds true for assessing change and...

Extremely Unified Groups: More Aggressive, More Destructive

Groups change people; a person in a group is very different alone. Subliminal influences encourage groups to accept those who adopt its ways and to...

Creative Innovation (Pt 5): Employees Running into Each Other

Posted on16 Aug 2012

Tagscreativity, The New Yorker, Steve Jobs, spontaneous, Jonah Lehrer, innovation, employees, organizational culture, Creative Innovation Series, context, build

Comments2

Since planning is so engrained in a business mindset, it’s easy to become frustrated when we hear we can’t pressure or force creativity and innovation....

Four Major Objections to Change

Posted on13 Aug 2012

Tagstraining, teachable moment, resistance to change, relationships, prioritization, patience, management by walking around, fear, change management, change

Comments4

When we encourage people to adopt change, we must anticipate and prepare to overcome four major objections with each person: No Good: belief the change...

Mike Lehr’s Blog

Creative Innovation (Pt 8): Guidelines over Rules

Intuition in Problem Solving: A Compass

Creative Innovation (Pt 7): Conflict

Plug ‘n Play Employees: Not Enough Qualified People

DANGER! Over Thinking Decisions

Change Management – Tactic #8: Management by Walking Around

Creative Innovation (Pt 5): Employees Running into Each Other

Four Major Objections to Change

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