Rowley Associates

Do you know what people are saying about you?

Spot the link. Toyota; Tiger Woods; JetBlue; basketball superstar Kobe Bryant; Goldman Sachs; and the SEC. These are just some of the more high profile names caught up in scandals impacting their brand. In a recent edition of the Economist, the reporter Schumpeter describes the growing number of companies that spend time in ‘brand rehab’. [...]

Put the touch back in touchy-feely

Want to know how to create a high performance team – start slapping heads and touching one-another. Now before you all get HR violations a word of caution. The research that promoted this finding counted the number of ‘celebratory contacts’ such as fist bumps and head slaps that occurred during the 2008-2009 NBA season.  They [...]

Want to make better business decisions? Go wash your hands

Recent research published in the magazine Science reports that washing ones hands after making a decision reduces cognitive dissonance or stress. The act of washing is said to ‘wipe the slate clean’ and make people feel better about the choices they may have ignored. The catch? There had to be one didn’t there. Whilst washing [...]

Is creativity the most important leadership attribute?

According to a study by IBM, creativity is the #1 leadership requirement. Based on interviews with over 1,500 CEO’s around the world 60% cited creativity as the most important leadership quality, followed by Integrity (52%) and ‘Global Thinking’ (35%). ‘Fairness’ and ‘Humility’ were rated least desirable. The full results are illustrated below.

What is interesting about [...]

The Marshmallow Challenge and Team Collaboration

A great description by Tom Wujecof of Autodesk of what it takes to perform at the highest level, or why kindergarten kids top MBA’s. In a nutshell, specialized skills – ego + facilitation x incentives = success.

To take the marshmallow challenge click here.

A picture is worth a 1000 words

Like many consultants I use some form of slide-ware (PowerPoint or Keynote) when working with clients. It’s a constant challenge to make sure the content of these presentations engage and inform. I recently purchased a couple of books to help me think differently about how and what to present. I think they are well worth [...]

Feeling happy? Make the most of your ‘13 seconds a day’

According to the Onion, the amount of time spent being happy has dropped to an all-time low of 13 nonconsecutive seconds per day. Since this report is from the Onion it has to be taken with a pinch of salt but it does point to a larger body of research studying what makes people happy. [...]

Is your work a sanctuary, a place to make a difference, or a nut house?

Since 1999 the American Psychological Association has been assessing and recognizing organizations, large and small, that provide a psychologically healthy place to work. Its an interesting, and important measure of organizational functioning as it provides an alternative to focusing on what is wrong by looking at businesses that have got it right.
To be regarded as [...]