Author: Dusty Paths

People have different perspectives of the world, and disagreements are natural. Conflicts are commonplace in the workplace. Conflicts arise as a result of people holding opposing viewpoints and wanting others to understand theirs. Although conflicts between employees are common at workplaces, if unresolved, the impact is felt by their teams. A conflict between teams can lead to a dilution of work culture as well as conflicting situations with customers (poor experiences being delivered). For example, …

Take a look at some examples of business communication, both internal and external to the company. And you can find discrepancies between what people within the company believe and how customers perceive the brand. Take a quick look around the organisation, and you’ll notice that aligning people around a common set of goals is a constant challenge. Vision and mission statements are more likely to be remembered as chunks of text pasted around the office. …

In 2005, a student hacked into the website that many business schools use to manage student applications. He then published detailed hacking instructions on the internet. Many applicants exploited this to gain access to the website and check their admission status. While many business school deans expressed their displeasure with the hacking and promised further investigations, then-Harvard Business School Dean Kim Clark announced that all applicants who hacked the website would be rejected. While these …

Joseph B. Strauss was the Chief Engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge. He led the construction of the Bridge, working with a team of engineers, architects, geologists, and other professionals. The Golden Gate Bridge is an engineering marvel, whose construction began in January 1933. Workers had to brave a long list of challenges – fast-running tides and storms, fog that reduced visibility to zero and blasting rock underwater to lay earthquake-proof foundations. These challenges meant …

Matt Sakaguchi, a manager at Google, took his team out on an offsite retreat. His objective – to test out the findings of Project Aristotle, an extensive survey Google had conducted to know what makes up an effective team. A profound finding through the survey was the concept of psychological safety as the most important factor of building an effective. Which is the idea of taking a personal risk without it being held against you.  …