Roger Martin | Lou Gerstner | School of Management | Goldilocks syndrome

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No More Heroes (or Victims)
The current obsession with the fall of the hero CEO is woefully one-sided, according to Roger Martin, management guru and dean of Toronto’s top-ranked Rotman School of Management. In his new book, The Responsibility Virus: How Control Freaks, Shrinking Violets and the Rest of Us Can Harness the Power of True Partnership (Basic Books), Martin introduces a framework for understanding where leadership breaks down. It starts with a virulent germ — fear of failure — that sets off an endless loop of what Martin calls “under-” and “over-responsibility.” The responsibility virus is a classic Goldilocks syndrome: The leader assumes too much responsibility for success, and his people assume too little. The challenge, of course, is to get it just right.

How to Speak IBM< br/>Lou Gerstner is one leader whose accomplishments are not in question. In his nearly decade-long tenure as IBM’s chairman and CEO, he led a stunning turnaround of the company. And, apparently, he has had time to learn a new language. Here are some of the IBMisms featured in his leadership memoir, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance? Inside IBM’s Historic Turnaround (HarperBusiness).

Crisp Up, Tweak, and Swizzle: What you do to improve a PowerPoint presentation.

Boil the Ocean: To use all means necessary to make something happen.

Goat Roping: A meeting to get several people to agree to something that you are proposing.