"Unlike politicians, business leaders are often out of the public eye and shielded from effective scrutiny, particularly if their boards are inept and their influence extends to the people expected to be watchdogs for the public trust . . . After studying the need for power, David C. McClelland and David H. Burnham conclude: ‘Top managers must possess a high need for power—a concern for influencing people; however, this need must be disciplined and controlled so that it is directed toward the benefit of the institution—not their personal aggrandizement.’ This, then, is the challenge: how to attain and use power wisely and in a disciplined way, how to exercise power without abusing it or allowing its focus to be the elevation of the leaders’ self-interests."

For the entire article, CLICK HERE, and go to page 10.

In the December issue of Sales & Service Excellence

Customer Insight: by Chip R. Bell and John R. Patterson

"At least 95 percent of all companies seek customer feedback by engaging in customer inquiry. Armed with surveys, focus group reports and suggestions, the marketing department slices, dices, and presents to leaders what we know for sure about our customers. But is understanding customers the end goal? The huge investment in gathering customer feedback is primarily to gain either confirming or corrective information—to learn how are we doing and what do we need to fix. But, today’s customers show their allegiance to innovative companies—those with a passion for the inventive. Traditional customer feedback and evaluation can’t effectively inform innovation."

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE and go to page 4.