Used with discretion, the internet is now valuable management tool. It is potentially rich source of useful, but sometimes useless, management information. ‘On the Web’ has been designed to help busy executives quickly identify useful sites on key management topics. We kick off the column this month with look at leadership. Management magazine is, after all, the magazine for leaders. ‘On the Web’ is designed to identify good websites and to save readers the arduous task of trawling through the thousands of websites search engines suggest in response to keyword search. It’s not difficult to find articles about leadership on the web. Defining the qualities that epitomise the subject is, however, another matter. The results of our search have by no means produced an exhaustive survey of all sites on the subject. They are, I think, starting point from which foray into web literature on leadership might be launched.
www.managementfirst.com
This US-based site contains comprehensive range of articles on all aspects of leadership and management. Other key subjects covered include CRM, management styles, international marketing and management learning. You must register to gain access to some resources, but the only cost is the time spent filling out the form. There is an online management resource centre, an ongoing discussion forum and monthly email updates on management topics. Functional and easily navigated, the site has range of links to other business/management sites.
www.managementlearning.com
The material on this site is free and, surprise surprise, isn’t trying to sell you anything. The site includes access to learning exercises, library and articles about leadership and management. recent article entitled “How Comfortable Is Your Rut?” sends warning to successful organisations that hidden in company’s success may lie the seed of its undoing. Managementlearning.com is no-frills site with lots of useful information.
www.managementmasters.com
This site presents the findings of survey of professors from leading American graduate schools of business. Conducted every three years, “The Management Masters Survey”, is packed with up-to-date ideas and information about leadership and management from some of the best brains in business. The website lists the 10 most important management books of the past century, and includes articles on topics such as performance characteristics for high-impact management through to what makes an entrepreneur likely to succeed. The findings from the survey are released in monthly reports so the site’s worth bookmarking. This is not the most user-friendly of sites, but the information is good once you access it. It is sometimes difficult to find your way back to where you started. Hard copies of the survey results are sold as series entitled “The Ten Most Powerful Ideas in Management”.
www.ccl.org
This is one of the more visited sites for leadership on the web. The Centre for Creative Learning is non-profit educational institute that runs leadership development programmes, mostly from its US campuses but also in Belgium. Most useful for New Zealand managers and CEOs is the bi-monthly newsletter that contains articles about leadership, information from research the institute is involved with, new management ideas, and perspectives from international leaders. The site also has an online bookstore and reproduces the latest leadership news articles. Its educational programmes were ranked number one by Business Week.
www.sdlcg.com
Consultancy to the multinational stars, the Sean-Delaney Leadership site is an online brochure outlining the organisation’s international executive leadership and team-building programmes. Founded in 1978, the consultancy runs programmes for CEOs and senior execs. Case studies are available online. They feature solutions implemented by the organisation and identify what worked, for whom and in what situation. The site provides access to book excerpts and articles by top international executives and consultants. It also offers an online newsletter that purports to publish the best five to six articles on leadership from around the globe. recent article looked at ways of overcoming internal barriers to changing your business model and tips on how to keep up with changing technology.
www.completeleadership.com
Design-wise this is tragic looking site. It is, however, peppered with interesting information on management theory, discusses perennials like the difference between management and leadership and offers advice on how to create more powerful leadership development processes. The site is the work of founder Barry Borgeson, PhD-equipped techno-savvy manager who spent time as GM with Unisys before becoming CEO in the US technology sector.
Damon Birchfield is an Auckland-based freelance writer. Email:[email protected]
