Posts by David Burkus
Don’t Hire For Culture Fit
You’ve probably heard the advice: “Don’t hire for skills, hire for culture fit.” The idea is that if someone is a good fit for your company culture, you can train them on the skills they need. But the reverse isn’t always true. No matter how much training you give them, you can’t really change someone’s…
Read MoreHow To Respond To New Creative Ideas
One of the more fascinating findings around creativity (especially creativity at work) is how important the social environment is to whether or not individuals tap into their creativity potential. Social Environment is one of four components that Teresa Amabile discovered were precursors to creative ideas. The social environment stimulates creativity by effecting collaboration, the safe…
Read MoreHow to Brainstorm Properly
Brainstorming is one of the most over-used words in business today, maybe even most over-used in all organizations. Any time people are trying to come up with ideas, they call it brainstorming. And as a result, the techniques, rules, and methods of brainstorming are twisted and abused to where everyone seems to hate brainstorming and…
Read MoreWhy You Should Not Climb The Corporate Ladder
Do you think climbing the corporate ladder is the best chance for career success? Think again. One of the favorite studies I wrote about in Friend of a Friendis Adam Kleinbaum’s research on what he calls organizational misfits. We might think that the people that stick in one silo, stay in one lane, and slowly…
Read MoreWhy Your Creative Idea Isn’t All That Original (And That’s A Good Thing)
Here’s an uncomfortable truth: Your amazing, original idea—the one you swear is going to transform the world—is not all that original. At least not in the way that you think. And that doesn’t mean it’s not going to transform the world. We tend to think that outstanding creative works or amazing disruptive innovations sprang forth…
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