Berthoud Consulting

Berthoud Consulting

Musings

Leadership and Accountability

Who holds the top accountable? As a leader, whether of a unit or an organization, it’s easy to get trapped by the illusions of the office. Check the news for accounts of people who used their offices unethically. The leader’s … Read More

Reader’s Review–Fall 2010

I recently read several books that you might find interesting: A Nation of Strangers: Prejudice, Politics and the Populating of America by Ellis Cose. Though written in 1992, Cose provides a thorough review of immigration debates and policies from the … Read More

What are you for?

People respond to a positive proposition with energy that’s optimistic and sustainable. That is, people will strive for something compelling even, or especially, if it’s challenging. On the other hand, identifying something wrong or objectionable and fighting against what is, … Read More

Facilitating for Transformation

The course I taught was, finally, a success. It took a lot to reach people, to get the concepts across, to get them to take ownership of their learning, their class, and their process. My colleague and I didn’t break … Read More

Yoga and karate: Recognizing the present

I used to study martial arts. I loved it. It was the ballast to my activist life. It was where I discovered my athletic self. Then, after about 18 years, I fell while hiking and hurt my back. There went … Read More

When Private Apologies Don’t Work

The meeting was interrupted by an outburst from the leader to a subordinate. Whatever the person said or did to deserve that tongue lashing was a mystery. Had she broken the leader’s train of thought? Contradicted him? Offered an idea … Read More

The Plan Starts NOW!

Organizations use strategic plans to identify their vision, mission, outcomes, success factors, milestones, resource allocation, short-term objectives and action steps. People get excited by the destination and path they’ve set for themselves but they often postpone their future by continuing … Read More