The Forum Blog

We have moved

Holly Rowland — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:39:16 +0000

Thank you for visiting The Forum Blog. We have moved. You’ll find our new blog at http://forumcorporation.wordpress.com/ Please join us in our new home

Cutting Through the Noise

Holly Rowland — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:28:43 +0000

by Forum CEO, Ed Boswell I’ll confess – I’m a news junkie. But lately, I’ve found myself tuning out. Not because the news isn’t interesting; in some ways, it’s too interesting. Rather I find the news terribly unhelpful as a business leader. Most of it focuses on forces over which we have no control. The news [...]

Mastery and How to Attain It

Kerry Johnson — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:20:12 +0000

While thinking about the idea I discussed in a recent blog post—that it takes 10,000 hours to attain a level of mastery—I recalled a tiny, yet profound book I’d read more than 15 years ago entitled Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment by George Leonard. I was fascinated by how articulate Leonard was [...]

Communication, Cooperation, Collaboration: Hard, Harder, Hardest

Kerry Johnson — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:53:17 +0000

At a recent meeting with about 100 top leaders in a client organization I observed the level of energy and the heat of the conversation increase every time the topic of collaboration arose. This is a highly sophisticated, technology-driven company. They have a wide range of products and services. And, they serve an educated, demanding [...]

The Reflective Practitioner: Asking Yourself and Others Good Questions

Kerry Johnson — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:39:19 +0000

“The important thing is NOT TO STOP questioning.” –Albert Einstein Creating a mindset of “work as learning” is neither easy nor, necessarily, natural. The tactics and politics and semantics of the leaders’ daily work demand action, not reflection. A focus on reflection interferes with action, in the minds of many leaders and their observers. Make decisions! [...]

10,000 Hours Revisited: Work as Learning

Kerry Johnson — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:42:40 +0000

How will I get 10,000 hours of leadership practice under my belt? How will it be a meaningful and efficient experience? Most importantly, how will I get my work done if I’m so focused on learning to lead? These and related questions trouble the training community, as does the dilemma of balancing ever-increasing amounts of work [...]

It Takes 10,000 Hours

Kerry Johnson — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:40:58 +0000

What do master violinists, professional hockey players, and world-class computer programmers have in common? According to Malcolm Gladwell, they have all practiced at least 10,000 hours to reach a level of mastery in their craft. In his new book about what makes people successful in their chosen professions, Outliers: The Story of Success (New York: [...]

None of Us is as Smart as All of Us

Kerry Johnson — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:42:32 +0000

Satchel Paige, the old baseball star of the Negro Leagues, once said, “None of us is as smart as all of us.” In business, Satchel Paige’s long-ago words certainly ring true today. The complexity, challenges, and opportunities faced by business leaders require them to actively seek out the ideas of others—those they agree with and those [...]

How can we realize the value of brainstorming?

Kerry Johnson — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:08:14 +0000

I often get asked by our clients about brainstorming. It seems like chaos, so why do it? How can you make it really work? When should we do it? How do we reward and reinforce that kind of thinking in the workplace? Brainstorming is one of those techniques that we’ve done so much and for so [...]

Leaders Are Needed to Avert Financial Crisis

Tom Atkinson — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:37:47 +0000

If you’ve read a newspaper, turned on the TV, or looked at your retirement portfolio in the last few weeks, you’ve undoubtedly noticed the financial system is under enormous strain, if not in downright crisis. U.S. lawmakers are struggling to find a solution to the problem that satisfies their constituents while settling the markets. No [...]