Leadership through history, human behaviour, and hard miles
Herman Miller has been an iconic furniture company for over a century. Its creations—the Eames lounge chair, Noguchi table, Marshmallow sofa, and Aeron chair—are cultural artefacts. More than 40 museums display their work, and over 100 pieces are part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. The modern office “cubicle” also
The Boeing Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad was one of the most devastating tragedies in aviation history. Air India, which operated the aircraft, is a Tata company—valued for its image of trust and care. In situations both relatively minor and deeply grave like this, leaders owe apologies. Etymologically, the word “apology” in Greek means a speech
Managing change in an organization is one of the hardest things to do. While we often get the basics right—like communicating a vision, setting milestones, and tracking progress—we also tend to miss a few crucial elements. First, even scientific revolutions only happen when paradigms shift. Culture—or prevailing paradigms—ultimately determine what can change and what won’t.
As supervisors and leaders, we inherit teams and must achieve results with them. The common belief is that skills are innate and dependent on talent. However, research suggests that skills can be learned by anyone and are driven more by inner motivation than by natural ability. Opportunity and motivation play the most crucial roles in