Peter Wong (not his real name) was a rising star in of one of the largest global banks in the world.  Starting out in Asia as an entry level hire, he steadily made his way up after completing several expatriate assignments across the globe.  At the rate he was progressing, it would only be a [...]

According to BusinessDictionary.com, corporate governance is “The Framework of rules and practices by which a board of directors ensures accountability, fairness, and transparency in a company’s relationship with its all stakeholders.”  OECD.org defines it as the “Procedures and processes according to which an organisation is directed and controlled. The corporate governance structure spe

Generations of human experience have taught us that the five principles discussed in this post are proven keys to success, happiness, and leadership effectiveness. Yet, most of us not only forget, but also flagrantly violate them in our daily interactions with people. We are quick to criticize others when they fail to follow the principles.  [...]

As America scaled greater and greater heights of economic prosperity through most of the 20th century, the rest of the world (in particular Asia) complained bitterly about American arrogance.  The common perception about the US in Asia was that Americans do not try to understand others’ perspectives and want to rule the world with their [...]

Lessons corporate executives can learn from entrepreneurs When my friend Jim took the giant leap from corporate executive to technology entrepreneur back in  2000, even he never imagined that he would lead a Nasdaq listed company with over 20,000 employees in eight countries by 2009.   How did he pull off this rare achievement?  Many [...]

The plethora of recent surveys probing CEO’s concerns point to the same conclusion – most CEOs’ biggest worry is profitable growth.  No surprise therefore, that plenty of management and leadership advice is available on the subject. In fact a search for the words ‘business growth’ in the books section of amazon.com threw out over 50,000 [...]

If you approve or select your organization’s investments in leadership development, read on…. Thanks to a plethora of research, there is no doubt left about the fact that talent and leadership are essential hallmarks of sustainable business growth. Almost everyone therefore agrees that getting talent and leadership development right is a must. However, despite decades [...]

On the heels of unabated violence in the Middle East ever since the 2011 Arab Spring, an unusual Indian uprising in August put the powers that be on notice without the firing of a single bullet, and without mob violence of any kind.  Millions of ordinary Indians sent a strong and clear message to their [...]

If you are leading a group discussion on the subject of leadership and want people to start participating actively right from the word go, open the session by making the following statement: There is no such thing as bad leadership. Almost immediately, several people will challenge you, and offer many examples of bad leadership.  Someone [...]

A prominent and well-respected leader once said to me, “I am furious about how this project has turned out.  It is my own fault. I should have visited the site every other week to give them specific instructions, because that is the only way to create something great. You just cannot rely on others these [...]