Why Navigating Change Requires a Compass
"Alignment" is more than a buzzword: for organizations that are really serious about peak performance, it's a strategic imperative. As the old adage says, "If you don't know where you're going, any path will get you there." Amazingly, many organizations – even in this age of sophisticated technology and management tools – still try to navigate the waves of change without a guidance system ...
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CPR: Breathing Life & Vitality into Your Leadership
Great leadership is no accident. It’s the result of deliberate effort and attention to detail. This involves managing values, the “core doctrine” of what the organization professes to stand for. In managing values, the best leaders practice something we call CPR.
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How Positive Thinking Can Produce Negative Results
In the real world, the good news is often not all the news. And operating with only part of the news can be as dangerous as an air traffic controller trying to direct an airplane while looking at only half the radar screen.
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How's Your Emotional Intelligence?
Aside from personal integrity, what quality is most critical to effective leadership? Emotional intelligence.
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High-Impact Speaker for Your Next Event
No pop psychology or bland platitudes here. Rodger Dean Duncan's business and leadership savvy are the real deal. His content-rich programs stress personal accountability for results. His down-to-earth style motivates people to feel better, be better and do better. Tons of take-home value.
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Building Your Leadership Legacy
Many leaders badly erode their credibility by ignoring or miscalculating the power of communication. Somehow they assume that either nobody notices or nobody cares if they are petty or thoughtless in dealing with subordinates and colleagues. Oh, how dangerously mistaken they are.
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Plug the Brain Drain
Tired of losing some of your best people to the competition? Here are ten tried-and-true ways to retain your most valuable asset. And guess what? Not a single one involves increasing your payroll....
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What's the Big Deal About Teams?
In this era of "total quality" this and "one-minute" that, it's easy to get confused about what really works in helping an organization accomplish its goals. While there's no simple answer, one thing is certain: teams can help....
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Avoiding the Dilbert Zone
What do industry leaders like American Airlines, Black & Veatch, IBM, Helzberg Diamonds, and Consolidated Edison have in common? They've all turned to The Duncan Company to help their smart people work smarter....
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7 Habits of Highly Effective Consultants
Keynote Address at the National Conference of the Institute of Management Consultants. The theme of this national conference is "The Future of Consulting: Navigating the Waves of Change." That's a challenging metaphor, and it conjures up a number of thoughts. The principles I'll discuss today are not the flavor of the month. They are not a passing fad ...
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What's This Culture Stuff?
Every organization has a personality. It's called "culture." Smart business people are talking about "culture" and how it must be "managed," "led," or "re-shaped." But before anything productive can be done about your culture, it must first be genuinely understood....
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Everything I Know I Learned from Noah's Ark
When all is said and done ... there's usually more said than done. Here are 11 simple principles that make life easier.
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How to Attend a Meeting
This short piece takes a humorous look at what everyone complains about - attending meetings.
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Diagnosing is first step in curing ills
Rodger Dean Duncan likens his work to watching the tunneling in a plastic-encased ant farm. You have to see all the activity beneath the saurface, the performance management consultant says. (from a column in the Business section of the Kansas City Star)
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