Press/Articles

Submitted by admin on October 7, 2009 - 4:48pm

Press/Articles

Performance Review Takes a Page from Facebook

by Jena McGregor

BusinessWeek

Thursday, March 12, 2009 (All day)

Employers are trying out social networking-style systems that aim to improve—and take the dread out of—annual reviews

In the world of Facebook or Twitter, people love to hear feedback about what they’re up to. But sit them down for a performance review, and suddenly the experience becomes traumatic.

Now companies are taking a page from social networking sites to make the performance evaluation process more fun and useful. Accenture (ACN) has developed a Facebook-style program called Performance Multiplier in which, among other things, employees post status updates, photos, and two or three weekly goals that can be viewed by fellow staffers. Even more immediate: new software from a Toronto startup called Rypple that lets people post Twitter-length questions about their performance in exchange for anonymous feedback. Companies ranging from sandwich chain Great Harvest Bread Co. to Firefox developer Mozilla have signed on as clients.

Stop concentrating on your weaknesses

by Sayani Mukherjee

The Daily Pennsylvanian

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 (All day)

“Focus on your strengths, not weaknesses,” Marcus Buckingham, a well-known motivational speaker, said at Zellerbach Theater last night.

Buckingham discussed his latest book, The Truth About You, which directs readers toward self-empowerment.

The Truth About You focuses on identifying one’s strengths at an early age and developing the unique traits that every individual possesses. The book is intended for Generation Y, college students and young professionals.

Your Brilliant Next Career…and How to Find It

by Susan Choi

O Magazine

Saturday, September 1, 2007 (All day)

The puzzle: a successful woman who felt that something in her life was missing—but what, precisely? The answer: Marcus Buckingham, an expert in what works at work, believes that the power to transform your life is much closer than anyone realizes. O reports on a surprising (and profound) lesson in getting unstuck and on track.

One day at work, the computer system Kylie (not her real name) depends on to get her job done collapsed in a total meltdown. The tech support people, five states away in Virginia, wouldn’t pick up the phone. Kylie’s colleagues wouldn’t get off her back—they were literally hanging over her shoulders, demanding to receive what she had no way to give them until the system started up again. In the end, she was glued to her chair for six unbroken, miserable hours. For Kylie, who grew up in Midwestern farm country, who loves to hike and ride horses and work with her hands, this six-hour imprisonment in her chair was the worst thing of all. At home that night, she felt as if she’d been beaten up. “I looked ahead at the next 20 years and thought, ‘If it’s more of this, I’ll slit my wrists.’”

Doing More of What You’re Good at Doing

by Kenneth Roman

The Wall Street Journal

Wednesday, March 28, 2007 (All day)

The dustjacket of Go Put Your Strengths to Work directs readers to the Web site simplystrengths.com to “learn how engaged your strengths are.” I went as suggested and took the Strengths Engagement Track test. I scored a high 82 on the test and was told: “You are a very focused person.” My bet is that Marcus Buckingham scores even higher; he is preternaturally focused.

Ladies and Gents: Marcus Buckingham!

by Jena McGregor

BusinessWeek

Monday, March 26, 2007 (All day)

THE BUSINESS SAGE IS SPREADING HIS GOSPEL VIA A BUS TOUR--AND EYEING WIDER AUDIENCES

In his 18 years on the road, bus driver Allen Rushing has chauffeured his share of pop stars, from ’80s-era hitmakers such as Sheena Easton to hip-hop artists and their entourages. The weathered Rushing, 61, was behind the wheel for Ozzy Osbourne’s “No Rest for the Wicked” tour. And during thrash-metal band Anthrax’ tour for their State of Euphoria album, he donned a giant mask and appeared onstage as the Not Man, the band’s cartoonish, slightly demented- looking icon.

Lay Down the Flaw

by Zoe Roberts

People Management

Thursday, October 26, 2006 (All day)

One of the most successful management gurus of recent years, Marcus Buckingham, believes he has failed. Why?

Is Marcus Buckingham a failure? It isn’t a term that many people would apply to him. As a consultant, author, and speaker on management and leadership, he’s sold more than 1.6 million copies of his first two books. His work has been reviewed in The New York Times, Fortune and Harvard Business Review and he has worked with companies such as Toyota and Coca-Cola. British by birth, Cambridge-educated and now living in Los Angeles with his family, he’s returning to the UK to deliver this week’s closing keynote address at the CIPD’s annual conference and exhibition.

Engaging Generation Y

by Marcus Buckingham

Training + Development

Tuesday, August 1, 2006 (All day)

An interview with Marcus Buckingham

As companies strive to maximize talent, many stumble when it comes to younger workers. They’re, like, different. So how do you engage millennials and develop their special talents? We asked Marcus Buckingham, author and authority on discovering and maximizing your strengths.

Best Leaders of 2005: Gurus

by Bruce Nussbaum

BusinessWeek

Monday, December 19, 2005 (All day)

In corner offices, design shops, ad agencies -- these executives were ahead of the pack

Helping executives find their strengths is the focus of Marcus Buckingham, who worked at researcher Gallup Organization for 17 years. Buckingham, who published The One Thing You Need to Know…About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success this year, is working on the third book in a trilogy that started with the best-sellers First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently and Now, Discover Your Strengths, which he wrote with Gallup colleagues. The book will focus on how executives can put their strengths to work on a daily basis.

Optimism Puts Rose-Colored Tint in Glasses of Top Execs

by Del Jones

USA Today

Thursday, December 15, 2005 (All day)

The best leaders have certain qualities in common.

First, there is an almost uncanny ability to see the big picture and make decisions with limited information.

Then there’s that rare combination of caring and charisma that makes others willing to take a bullet for them.

But it is increasingly apparent that the quality most common to those at the top is their tendency to see everything through rose-colored glasses. Leaders, it seems, are more optimistic than the rest of us curmudgeons.

Survey after survey indicates this. When 50,000 workers were asked, 54% of senior managers said they viewed their organization as “healthy,” according to a Booz Allen Hamilton survey released last month. But just 33% of middle managers and less than 30% of the rank and file echoed the sentiment.

A Year’s Worth of Good Workplace Strategy

by Harvey Schachter

The Globe and Mail

Wednesday, December 14, 2005 (All day)

Two books I read in March linger fondly in my mind for their captivating storytelling and rich insights into management.

DisneyWar was cautionary, illuminating what can go wrong in organizations as egos collide, rivalries fester, successors get knifed and miscommunication prevails. It didn’t provide any advice for handling these destructive activities but was still useful in dramatizing the dangers.

The other book, The One Thing You Need to Know, told how to improve management and leadership in an organization, offering incisive prescriptions. That’s why I have chosen it as the best business book of the year.