In an increasingly globalized world of business transactions, regardless of the current uncertainty fostered by illiberal politicians, the capacity to be effective and successful depends upon one’s cultural intelligence, which goes beyond cultural awareness and the dos and don’ts of behaviors. It requires a capability to adjust to changing circumstances that are not part of […]
When I think about Lebanon today, I always end up remembering my father. He was born on 10/10/1910 and died 104 years later. As many of his generation, he attended primary school in the north of Lebanon, worked with his family in their fields, went to Brazil to work with his father and brother selling […]
National military service for young Moroccan men and women should be part of an integrated youth development strategy less concerned about vague ideals and more about preparing youth for work and dignity in a country that opens doors to opportunities. The commitment must be mutually beneficial. Part 2 of a two-part article sets out how […]
Plans to reinstitute national military service for young Moroccan men and women should be a centerpiece for a national discussion on what to do about the country’s discontented youth. But the who, what, where, why, and how remain unanswered. Part 1 of a two-part article sets out the questions and dilemmas posed by the proposed […]
A colleague of mine recently circulated an email asking several of us to respond to his juxtaposition of leadership and catalyzing, reflecting the notion that the former is passé and the future is ‘catalyzing’ as the key concept. The response was quick and definitive…although “Concepts of leadership are evolving to keep pace with the disruption, […]
The muddle called the Middle East gets murkier It has long been said somewhat cynically that Lebanon’s raison d’etre is to serve as the proxy battlefield for everything in contention in the region and beyond. Certainly, contemporary events bear that out as PM Saad Hariri struggles to build consensus around a new government and ministerial […]
Concepts of leadership are evolving to keep pace with the disruption, transformation, and agility demands of today’s organizations. I can remember working in the early 70s on executive leadership programs at the Institute for Training and Development at GSPIA at the University of Pittsburgh, where we always began with McGregor’s X&Y theories of leadership and […]
This is the first in a series of posts linked to articles on my website that look at contemporary issues in organizational development (OD). Although the term organizational development has been around since the 1960s, the last century, its focus on expanding the capabilities of people within organizations to effectively manage change and performance is […]
While I have often expressed my thoughts about the Syrian, Palestinian, and Iraqi refugees in Lebanon, even including the burdens carried by Jordan and Palestine, it is only a starting point for recognizing the awful global conditions of refugees, internally displaced peoples, undocumented migrants, and stateless people that live in all corners of the globe. […]
Or will age-old stereotypes relegate them to secondary roles? The economic and business roles of Arab women have been discussed for more than two decades and initiatives have been launched on the consensus that their participation is worth promoting. With electoral quotas in several Arab countries to promote their political participation and with more women […]