Making the rounds of high school graduation parties this month, I’m repeatedly asked about the differences between life in Ireland vs. life in the States. My wife Jules’s post, End Of The Year Mania, covers a key area of difference, how we in the States are making important events (like high school graduations) unimportant by over-celebrating the trivial (like preschool graduations.) Jules references a brilliant piece in the The Boston Globe’s op-ed section on the downside of American over-celebrating. Jules nicely contrasts this with the upside of the Irish way of making the really important things truly matter more. Check it out.
Archive for the ‘The States’ Category
End of School Year Mania: The Downside of Making The Unimportant Important
4 June 2007Six Things It Takes To Be A Good Interim Executive
4 May 2007
My post, “Three Cases When Interim Executive Management Make Sense” focuses on Interim Executive Management from the company’s point of view. An article published in the UK focus on Interim Management from the person’s point of view.
I’m still a little surprised when I find myself recommending that, under certain circumstances, companies should make interim appointments at the executive / C-level. “Short-term” is simply not my nature. But some of the comments in the article help explain why, for the last decade, I’ve enjoyed success in a handful of assignments both in the States and in Europe:
- Fixing Things Fast: Interim executives need to enjoy fixing / changing things in a defined period of time.
- High-Pressure Situations: Interim executives need to be passionate about the task at hand, with a strong ability to succeed under high-pressure situations.
- Hands-On Role: Interim executives need to become an integral part of the organization; most employees open up to them, providing key support for a rapid solution.
- Loyalty: Interim executives develop a keen sense of loyalty to the organization, particularly to the need to improve it.
- Prior Knowledge: Interim executives bring to each organization the learnings from many other enterprises, allowing for rapid improvement.
- Permanent Interim: The best interim managers are those “who do it for a living” and are not simply “between jobs.”
The article’s not particularly well written, but it’s a quick read if you are so inclined.
Change Agent 