Humanize the language of business

“The noblest human ideals must become the noblest business ideals.”

The goals of management are usually described using words like “efficiency,” “advantage,” “value,” “superiority,” “focus,” and “differentiation.” Important as these objectives are, they lack the power to rouse human hearts. To create organizations that are almost human in their capacity to adapt, innovate, and engage, management pioneers must find ways to infuse even the most mundane business activities with deeper, soul-stirring ideals and to develop an authentically homegrown vocabulary for communicating their ambitions. How you talk reflects how you think (and how your organization works). If you want to inspire people to extraordinary accomplishment, the language of honor, truth, love, justice, and beauty can no longer be relegated to the fringes of management discourse and action.

361 Hacks
46 Stories
3 Barriers

Latest Activity

Organizational Trust 2.0: 42projects

42projects is an initiative across several teams at Microsoft to innovate in the way we manage by focusing on building trust, using games to increase productivity, and encouraging grassroots... Read more

Story by Ross Smith on April 11, 2010 4 Comments

Developing Tomorrow’s Talent: a girl, a blog, and 30 days to business impact

Trying to change company culture to one where talent development occurs informally and daily, Accenture developed the 30 Day Challenge: a social experiment using blogging, where 8650 people... Read more

Story by Clare Norman on July 4, 2011 2 Comments

Purpose Landing on the VizPlanet© - Our Generation’s Sputnik Moment?

With most purpose agenda driven sustainability solutions, being centered around –just changing our personal choices to reduce the carbon footprint, as opposed to changing our lifestyle first, before... Read more

Hack by Charles Prabakar on July 17, 2011 5 Comments

People being Social

Technology isn't the centre of web 2.0, people are. To create management 2.0, we need to enable change in the perspectives and behaviours of the people working within organisations. Read more

Hack by Jon Ingham on October 20, 2011 0 Comments

Combining Web Technology with Film Culture to Improve Organisational Communication

Modern organisations need to communicate more successfully with employees by harnessing the power of web technology and social networking sites. The Hack proposes the implementation of an intranet... Read more

Hack by Christian Driscoll on October 4, 2011 2 Comments

Resource punk

Often managers talk about resources when they mean people. And managers allocate resources to projects and tasks instead of people. This leads to a waste of talent and to decreased performance... Read more

Barrier by Frank Schwab on May 15, 2010 9 Comments

Change the story

Unless we change the story we won't change anything fundamental. Our stories keep us doing what we're already doing or open up new possibilites for action. The language of 'efficiency', '... Read more

Hack by Mark Addleson on December 17, 2011 0 Comments

Theory of Excellence

This a revolutionary and completely new management philosopy is founded on the core principles of evolution, nuero-science and nature. New concepts and approaches are developed by analysising eco-... Read more

Hack by Terry Wilcox on September 21, 2011 0 Comments

A framework for Management Innovation exists .. we just don't call it "Management"

Management innovation is available from the world of organizational development, as it's principles and dynamics are closely aligned to Hamel’s suggestion that “activities will still need to be... Read more

Hack by Jon Husband on August 1, 2011 2 Comments

1 Winner from 125 Ideas is so 1950

There's a limit to Web 2.0 that shows up in all of its uses, including the M Prize process: it doesnt really produce effective new management systems that will work, just islands of good practice... Read more

Hack by Michael F Kelly on July 18, 2011 0 Comments

Dell's grassroots, internal conference on social media

Dell's marketing and communications organizations rely more and more on social media and community (SMaC), with some people blogging on internal or external sites, others developing community-focused... Read more

Hack by Bill Johnston on January 13, 2011 2 Comments

Reinventing Management: A New Model of Non-Purchase, Non-Share Employee Ownership

Create a new management model with the highest level of employee engagement associated with employee ownership by adopting this new model of employee ownership that makes all employees owners and... Read more

Hack by Bay Jordan on January 17, 2011 11 Comments