Motivating employees and keeping them productive and engaged is difficult even in the best of times. Nowadays, with economic fears and pressures, and having to do more with less, it's harder than ever. But there are proven ways to increase engagement in your organization, at low cost. The result is harder-working employees who bring their best selves to work.

Kelley Holland’s recent article, Improve Morale by Knowing your Employees, (Under New Management, New York Times, 12/26/08) explores techniques for building teamwork as a means of improving morale in tough times. The article explores both "feel good" techniques typical of traditional teambuilding exercises and Jon Katzenbach's recent work on employee pride.

With a miserable 75% failure rate, mergers and acquisitions seem risky at best. Yet in today's economic climate, they are more in vogue than ever. How can you increase your odds for M&A success? In this ten-minute podcast, Jamie Harris discusses common factors that cause mergers and acquisitions to stumble (Hint: it's the people part). Then, you'll learn three key strategies for M&A success.

Use the play button to listen now. To download the podcast, please right-click and save the mp3 for listening on your mp3 player or on your computer, anytime.

The Conference Board is out with its annual assessment of the top ten challenges facing CEO’s, which it delayed slightly this year in order to gauge the impact of the financial crisis. The report, CEO Challenge 2008, shows a shift in CEO focus with talent management dropping from the top 10 list — edged out by an emphasis on execution, productivity and change management.

An economy in distress, recession, lay-offs and cut backs, investment markets in turmoil - times are tough and getting tougher for lots of people in lots of industries. Business climates like these present us two big questions:

- How can I deal with the personal consequences difficult times may cause me as an individual?
- How can I, as a leader of my company, help the organization continue to fulfill our mission?

I'm certainly not alone in reflecting on how much Tuesday’s election was a defining, galvanizing moment in American history — and in the perception of the United States around the world.

To: Management
From: A concerned employee

Subject: Performance Management

Well, it’s that time of year again. The leaves are changing color, the kids are headed back to school in their new shoes, and I’m preparing to meet with my boss to have a year’s worth of behavior summed up in a two-or three-word euphemism that will determine my future income and career potential. Yes, that’s right, it’s Performance Appraisal time.

If you were to survey almost any professional group and ask who is working in a formal or informal matrix organization, chances are you'd see most hands in the air. Even if their companies have a formal organization structure aligned to market segments, products, or functional groups, most people have to contend with satisfying competing needs from multiple constituencies. All too often, the result is finding the "least worst" option rather than building agreements and reconciling the differences to serve all parties' needs and interests.

At the recent Best of OD Summit in Chicago, Peter Block delivered a provocative keynote address called "Transformation and the Structure of Belonging." His remarks focused on the vital importance of creating communities, in both the civic and organizational senses. Nothing provocative there, but his unique approach to building communities questioned some existing assumptions about how best to mobilize effective action.

Part I.

It’s only words
And words are all I have
To take your heart away.

Bee Gees, "Words"

It is often said "Actions speak louder than words."

The implication is that words are not important. At the very least, the phrase dismisses the importance of words. Actions in a leader are important. I contend that words still have great impact. In fact, they are a form of ACTION. The leader's words ultimately are seen and heard by listeners and readers as conveying the strategic thinking of the leader.