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Humanize the language of business

“The noblest human ideals must become the noblest business ideals.”

The goals of management are usually described using words like “efficiency,” “advantage,” “value,” “superiority,” “focus,” and “differentiation.” Important as these objectives are, they lack the power to rouse human hearts. To create organizations that are almost human in their capacity to adapt, innovate, and engage, management pioneers must find ways to infuse even the most mundane business activities with deeper, soul-stirring ideals and to develop an authentically homegrown vocabulary for communicating their ambitions. How you talk reflects how you think (and how your organization works). If you want to inspire people to extraordinary accomplishment, the language of honor, truth, love, justice, and beauty can no longer be relegated to the fringes of management discourse and action.

32 Stories
87 Hacks
4 Barriers

Humanize the language of business

“The noblest human ideals must become the noblest business ideals.”

The goals of management are usually described using words like “efficiency,” “advantage,” “value,” “superiority,” “focus,” and “differentiation.” Important as these objectives are, they lack the power to rouse human hearts. To create organizations that are almost human in their capacity to adapt, innovate, and engage, management pioneers must find ways to infuse even the most mundane business activities with deeper, soul-stirring ideals and to develop an authentically homegrown vocabulary for communicating their ambitions. How you talk reflects how you think (and how your organization works). If you want to inspire people to extraordinary accomplishment, the language of honor, truth, love, justice, and beauty can no longer be relegated to the fringes of management discourse and action.

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Often managers talk about resources when they mean people. And managersallocate resources to projects and tasks instead of people.
Barrier by Frank Schwab on May 15, 2010
Leaders need to teach their teams to surf.  Our thoughts about organizations are obsolete.
Hack by Rick Hansen on March 24, 2012
Forget Taylor's scientific principles, reinvent new, simple, easy to understand principles that fit to the new era we're entering.
Hack by Louis Dietvorst on December 20, 2011
This hack is about growing collective knowledge and potential in a way that is fit for human purpose. I refer  to some work I did with an international group of health pr
Hack by Andres Roberts on July 27, 2011
There's a limit to Web 2.0 that shows up in all of its uses, including the M Prize process: it doesnt really produce effective new management systems that will work, just islands of good practice and
Hack by Michael F Kelly on July 18, 2011
Some of you may know the renowned photographer, Yann Arthus Bertrand. He is particularly famous for his series of shots of "the earth viewed from the sky".
Story by Olivier Lavergne on November 30, 2010
Whenever we can become the change we seek, that day's a sheer honor, and it happened to me quite recently!
Hack by Ellen Weber on December 7, 2010
Just 15 years ago the idea that business should place a social objective ahead of its responsibility to investors was considered economic heresy.In just the last year that perception has been changed
Story by Jeff Mowatt on July 25, 2012
It goes without saying that an efficient workplace leads to a more successful business.
Story by Cassidy Hennigan on December 18, 2017
A few years back I had the opportunity to do a business simulation game and step into the shoes of the CEO of a Fortune 100 company for a couple of days.
Hack by Olivier Lavergne on November 30, 2010

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