April Top 5 Roundup

Thank you to everyone who contributed to make these posts the most linked and discussed ideas in the month of April.

1. Good to Good
   Here are some interesting questions: Is there business advice out there for people and firms that, quite consciously, make a choice that they don't want to pursue "Olympic Gold"? If not, is most business literature profoundly misleading because it assumes objectives that are inaccurate?

2. Great Clients
   In this client relations post, I quote Dennis Howlett's AccMan's list of "Great Client" characteristics, and add to those my own. Readers contribute many interesting opinions and stories.

3. The Long Term
   I have observed that our biggest barrier, as individuals and organisations, is the difficulty in doing what is in our long-term best interest, not just what provides immediate gratification. This post builds on ideas developed in How Not to Manage People and Strategy and the Fat Smoker. Experience has shown me that there are effective ways to get people to do what they (already) know is best for them in the long term.

4. The War For Talent
   On the HBS site, Bob Sutton announces that "The War for Talent Is Back" (did it ever end?). Here is my response to that statement and what I think we can do to win the battle.

5. The Overhead Projector
   To this day, I prefer the use of the overhead projector because it is still the best technology I know to minimise the speaker-audience barrier during presentations. Some people wonder if this projects an unprofessional, out-of-date image ...