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Lack Of Opportunity Breeds Dreams Of Escape. But Professionals And Managers Who Have Invested In Their Careers Do Not Leave The Work Force As Frequently As Discouraged Workers In Lower Status Occupations. Instead, They Keep Working, But They Escape Emotionally By Defining Achievement In Professional, Not Company, Terms. ... Thus, The Potential For Being Stuck As Career Uncertainty Grows Takes Its Toll In Weakening Attachment To Any Particular Employer.

-Rosabeth Moss Kanter

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Lack Of Opportunity Breeds

Rosabeth Moss Kanter

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Lack Of Opportunity Breeds Dreams Of Escape. But Professionals And Managers Who Have Invested In Their Careers Do Not Leave The Work Force As Frequently As Discouraged Workers In Lower Status Occupations. Instead, They Keep Working, But They Escape Emotionally By Defining Achievement In Professional, Not Company, Terms. ... Thus, The Potential For Being Stuck As Career Uncertainty Grows Takes Its Toll In Weakening Attachment To Any Particular Employer.

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Change Is A Threat When Done To Me, But An Opportunity When Done By Me.

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Change Demands New Learning.

Innovative Organizations Provide The Freedom To Act Which Arouses The Desire To Act.

Leaders Is The New Organisation Do Not Lack Motivational Tools, But The Tools Are Different From Those Of Traditional Corporate Bureaucrats. The New Rewards Are Based Not On Status But On Contribution, And They Consist Not Of Regular Promotion And Automatic Pay Rises, But Of Excitement About The Mission And A Share Of The Glory Of Success.

To Stay Ahead, You Must Have Your Next Idea Waiting In The Wings.

During The Boom Years, It Was So Easy To Lose Sight Of Basic Values. For Example, There Was Lots Of Nonsense Said And Written About The So-called "new Economy." Some People Said All Economic Laws Have Been Overturned! Then All The Problems Developed. Corporations Were Heavily Fined For Illegalities. Many Of Their Senior-level Executives Were Indicted, Convicted, And Sent To Prison.

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The Middle Of Every Successful Project Looks Like A Disaster.

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Change Is Like Putting Lipstick On A Bulldog. The Bulldog's Appearance Hasn't Improved, But Now It's Really Angry.

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Winning Becomes Easier Over Time As The Cornerstones Of Confidence Become Habits.

It Takes Courage To Speak Up Against Complacency And Injustice While Others Remain Silent. But That's What Leadership Is.

Everything Looks Like A Failure In The Middle. In Neary Every Change Project, Doubt Is Cast On The Original Vision Because Problems Are Mounting And The End Is Nowhere In Sight.

Friendly People Are Caring People, Eager To Provide Encouragement And Support When Needed Most.

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Confidence Is The Bridge Connecting Expectations And Performance, Investment And Results.

Corporate Men And Women, Once Divided By Striking Differences In Opportunity For Career Growth, Have Come To Share Career Chaos.

One Of The Symptoms Of A Losing Streak Is A Turnover Of Top Executives. It's A Revolving Door.

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You've No Future Unless You Add Value, Create Projects.

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If Networks Of Women Are Formed, They Should Be Job Related And Task Related Rather Than Female-concerns Related. Personal Networks For Sociability In The Context Of A Work Organization Would Tend To Promote The Image Of Women Contained In The Temperamental Model - That Companies Must Compensate For Women's Deficiencies And Bring Them Together For Support Because They Could Not Make It On Their Own. But Job-related Task Forces Serve The Social-psychological Functions While Reinforcing A More Positive Image Of Women.

Leaders Are More Powerful Role Models When They Learn Than When They Teach.

In The Most Innovative Companies There Is A Significantly Higher Volume Of Thank Yous Than In Companies Of Low Innovation.

Thinkers, Makers And Traders Are The Dna Of The World Class Company

Not Everyone In An Organization Is In A Position To Accumulate Power Through Competent Performance Because Most People Are Just Carrying Out The Ordinary And The Expected - Even If They Do It Very Well. The Extent To Which A Job Is Routinized Fails To Give An Advantage To Anyone Doing It Because 'success' Is Seen As Inherent In The Very Establishment Of The Position And The Organization Surrounding It. Neither Persons Nor Organizations Get 'credit' For Doing The Mandatory Or The Expected.

Companies Used To Be Able To Function With Autocratic Bosses. We Don't Live In That World Anymore.

Power Stems From 'rainmaking,' As Law Firms Put It: The Ability To Bring Resources Into The Company.

No" Is Always An Easier Stand Than "yes.

What Being Among The 'right People' Entails Is The Possession Of Human Capital, Rather Than Organizational Capital: An Individual Reputation, Portable Skills, And Network Connections. Career Responsibility Is Squarely In The Hands Of Individuals, A Function Of Their Knowledge And Networks. Transferable Knowledge Is More Important To A Career Than Firm-specific Knowledge.

After Years Of Telling Corporate Citizens To 'trust The System,' Many Companies Must Relearn Instead To Trust Their People - And Encourage Their People To Use Neglected Creative Capacities In Order To Tap The Most Potent Economic Stimulus Of All: Idea Power.

A Self-reinforcing Upward Spiral: Performance Stimulating Pride Stimulating Performance.

Those Enjoying Winning Streaks Thus Win Twofold. They Win Not Only The Game But Also The Right To Greater Self-determination. They Become Masters Of Their Own Fate. That Feeling Of Efficacy, Of Being In Charge Of Circumstances, Is The Essence Of Confidence. Winning Once Or Twice Is Encouraging, But Winning Continuously Is Empowering.

The Architecture Of Change Involves The Design And Construction Of New Patterns, Or The Reconceptualization Of Old Ones, To Make New, And Hopefully More Productive, Actions Possible.

John Akers Once Said That Changing Ibm's Culture Was More Difficult Than Getting Elephants To Dance. Of Course It's Really Difficult, As Lou Gerstner Also Found Out Years Later. The Title Of His Own Book Is Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? He And His Top Executives Were Change Masters At Ibm. All Organizations, Especially The Larger Ones, Will Always Need Change Masters. Dissatisfaction With The Status Quo And Efforts To Improve It Should Be Encouraged Rather Than Discouraged. Regrettably, That Is Often Not The Case.

Confidence Is The Sweet Spot Between Arrogance And Despair-consisting Of Positive Expectations For Favorable Outcomes.

The More Closed The Circle, The More Difficult It Is For 'outsiders' To Break In. Their Very Difficulty In Entering May Be Taken As A Sign Of Incompetence, A Sign That The Insiders Were Right To Close Their Ranks.

Embrace Change As An Opportunity To Learn, To Improve, To Make A Difference In Others' Lives As Well As In Your Own. Have The Courage To Challenge The Status Quo. Remember That Preparation And Ambition In Combination With Opportunity Equals Success. And Have Fun!

The Very Lack Of Opportunity The Group Faces Creates A Self-defeating Cycle And Puts Pressure On Members To Limit Their Aspirations.

Sports Is A Perfect Activity In Which To See Streaks And Cycles, Organizational And Otherwise, In Action - And To Watch Confidence Build Or Erode. There Are Repeated Episodes Of Performance With Similar Rules And Clear Winners Or Losers. I Added Team Sports To My Studies Of Business Because There Are Excellent Parallels To Work Groups In The Performance Of Sports Teams And Also Excellent Parallels To Larger, More Complex Businesses Or Organizations In The Strategy, Structure, And Culture Surrounding Any Particular Team.

A Great Idea Is Not Enough.

Confidence Is Not Just In People's Heads; It Comes From The Culture Of The Organization. It's Easier To Expect Success When Working In An Organization That Has A Culture Of Accountability, Collaboration, And Initiative. Without This, It's Easier - And More Self-protective - To Assume Failure So The Person Is Not Disappointed And Instead Pleasantly Surprised.

Nations Need To Understand Their Own Strengths And Weaknesses, And India's Tradition Of Dissent And Democratic Debate Is A Positive Aspect.

The Goal Of Winning Is Not Losing Two Times In A Row.

Passion For A Goal Doesn't Guarantee Success, But Without It, You Can't Even Begin.

America Can Restore Its Strengths As The World-respected Land Of Opportunity By Returning To Open-society Principles. An Open Society Invests In People And New Ideas, Rewards Talent And Hard Work, Values Dialogue And Learns From Dissent, Operates To High Standards With Transparent Information, Looks For Common Ground, Sees Problems As Opportunities For Creative Change, And Encourages Those Who Are Fortunate To Help Others Get The Same Chance, Because Service Is The Highest Ideal. With Such Standards In Mind, America The Beautiful Can Return To Its Admired Role As America The Principled.

The Martha Stewart Trial Makes Clear How Far Women Have Risen In The Business World. America Can Be Proud Of Our Equal-opportunity Prosecution And Conviction.

The Boomers' Biggest Impact Will Be On Eliminating The Term 'retirement' And Inventing A New Stage Of Life... The New Career Arc.

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