Supportive Confrontation is a powerful way of reducing or
eliminating interpersonal tensions that can bog down a workplace or
any setting in which people come together to solve problems or
achieve goals. In this part 2 of our summary from the book Power
Up, Professors Cohen and Bradford identify the four basic
Influence Approaches to Supportive Confrontation and provide
guidelines for choosing the right approach for your situation.
November 2006
by Prof. Allan Cohen and David Bradford;
If product and technology innovation starts with someone
that disagrees with the acceptability of current solutions,
then we can’t be surprised that Dean Kamen thrives on it. He
and his team at DEKA Research have used a contentious,
non-corporate approach to innovation that has produced a
stellar record of results, including creation of the first
wearable medical infusion pump, the portable dialysis
machine and the Segway Human Transport. Read on and learn
more about this inventive rebel and the way he leads
innovation. August 2006
Prof. Allan Cohen, Prof. Jay Rao and BI Staff;
Wherever people work together there will be conflict and
sometimes these result in difficult confrontations that do
significant harm to the people involved and their
organizations. What if there was a way to constructively use
confrontations that would help to overcome the immediate
problem, while building stronger future relationships?
Professors Cohen and Bradford call this the art of
“Supportive Confrontation” and present methods to use it for
resolving interpersonal tensions in the workplace and
enhancing joint problem-solving. July 2006
by Prof. Allan Cohen and David Bradford;
Leadership is getting tougher, and will continue to do so.
Human Resources managers must form a new partnership with
leaders. This month prof. Cohen reviews some of the forces
at work creating this change and the steps HR must take to
adapt for success.
Prof. Allan R. Cohen & David R. Bradford;
Prof. Allan R. Cohen & David R. Bradford;
In the last of his recent interview series Southwest
Airlines Executive Chairman Herb Kelleher speaks with the
Insight about the challenges faced by the airline in its
early entrepreneurial years as they worked to create a new
market segment in air travel, how they managed the strategy,
people and growth as the company transitioned to become a
large organization, and his thoughts about the future of his
famous company. In closing, we present our own view of
Southwest Airlines people, culture and strategy drawn from a
field visit with one of their airport operations. July
2005
By Professor Allan Cohen, James Watkinson and Jenny Boone;
How can you gain more responsibility, get coaching, gain
acceptance for your ideas and make disagreements more
manageable? The starting point is to create a partnering
relationship with your boss. Many business professionals are
surprised to learn that they are responsible for making
their boss a better manager. In a very real sense you and
your boss are partners in success. This month we’ve
excerpted a chapter on influencing your boss from the new
edition of Influence Without Authority . Here you’ll
find highlights that show how you can overcome a variety of
common problems and build a mutually beneficial relationship
with the boss. Concrete examples drawn from real-world
situations and case studies are used to illustrate
principles and concepts providing a blueprint for building
your influence skills by becoming a partner with your boss.
April 2005.
Chapter highlights from a book by Allan Cohen and David
Bradford;
Regardless of the jobs you’ve held, its almost certain that
you’ve struggled in pursuing a solution that someone,
somewhere in your organization almost certainly had the
knowledge to quickly resolve, or the ideas that could open
up an opportunity. Despite all of our technology companies
still face this knowledge logjam. What stops knowledge from
spreading? This month Prof. Cohen reviews his personal
experience in helping those needing knowledge to find those
who have it and getting those in-the-know interacting with
those who need ideas and solutions?
Prof. Allan Cohen;
What does it take to build great customer service and
experiences? According to Colleen Barrett at Southwest
Airlines the answer is not in creating pages of rules, but
rather in the way you treat your people. How do they make
this work and how do they keep the spirit alive throughout
the more than 30 cities served and across more than 30,000
employees? Well, she says you have to work at it every
single day, but we’ll let Colleen tell you in her own unique
way. April 2006
Prof. Allan Cohen, Prof. Jay Rao and Insight staff;
Over the last 30+ years there has been only one airline that
has showed strong growth and been consistently profitable:
Southwest Airlines. In a business where execution is
everything, whether its customer service, operations, or
marketing, success depends on committed people who make it
all work every day. How do Southwest’s people do it? We
spoke to Herb Kelleher recently about his people-focused
company and he talked candidly about how the company builds
its people into leaders, the important elements of
Southwest’s people-culture, what makes it work and how is it
sustained. March 2005.
By Professor Allan Cohen, James Watkinson and Jenny Boone;
We've all been there...you see a great opportunity, but
you're a middle manager, not the division or corporate
President, so you lack the direct authority and resources to
implement your ideas and affect change. How do you lead the
top people and your peers to successful change? Listen to
Prof. Cohen describe the keys to getting your ideas heard,
gaining support and building your leadership role.
Prof. Allan Cohen;