The science of leadership and change: creating tomorrow’s workplaces

Author: Paul Gibbons

  • What is Pop Leadership and Why is it Harmful?

    Pop leadership is dangerous stuff.  Why?  Because pop leadership sounds wise and profound – but it is more often either trivial or wrong. Dan Dennett (famous Tufts philosopher) coined the expression “deepity” – which is a statement that is apparently profound but actually asserts a triviality on one level and something meaningless on another. Take this…

  • Chinese Leadership and Philosophy Quotes

    I put together an incredible list of Chinese leadership and philosophy quotes. Chinese history is steeped in different philosophical ideas that have helped mold the leadership culture. I thought I would share some of the best.   P.S. this is part of a series, read some leadership quotes from women philosophers and African-American philosophers.  What makes China…

  • Ethics in the News – Uber Culture, Kalanick, and Trump Leadership

    Uber is back in the news – for covering up a data breach and for which they forked out $148 million.  How did they go from the world’s most valuable and admired startup to an example of everything that is wrong with Silicon Valley’s “tech bro” culture? Is Kalanick the Root of the Uber Culture…

  • Leadership Quotes from African-American Philosophers and Poets

    For years I’ve taught Business Ethics dismayed at how few leadership quotes from African-American philosophers and poets we used. I sought out my favorite African-American philosophers and assembled an amazing list of wisdom. (Recently, I also compiled a list of leadership quotes from women philosophers as well) Which is your fave? Share if you like!…

  • Sam Harris is Closing His Patreon Account – Is Patreon Being Ethical?

    Sam Harris is Closing His Patreon Account – Is Patreon Being Ethical? Just as I’m ramping up my Patreon account to crowdfund Think Bigger Think Better, I learned Sam Harris is closing his Patreon account with the following note:                                   …

  • Best Non-fiction Books of 2018

    2018 was another tumultuous year in politics around the world.  People are still struggling to make sense of the rise of populism, alternative facts, nativism and authoritarianism.  (Did you know that sales of Orwell’s 1984 soared 10,000 percent in 2016 – the publisher could not meet demand.)  Most of my reading and writing focused on…

  • My Five Favorite TV Shows, Movies, Tweeters, and Songs from 2018

    Part of me likes high-culture (opera, ballet, classical music).  But I have a Mr Hyde – and he likes junk sci-fi, Netflix dramas, hip-hop and EDM. Yes, I’m several decades too old for that kind of music – but ever since I switched from Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin to The O’Jays and Luther Vandross…

  • Worst Ethics Scandals of 2018

    In my Business Ethics and Leadership MBA class, we have a segment called Ethics in the News, where students bring an issue from the week’s news to discuss and try to apply abstract ideas – such as “values-based leadership” or “consequentialist ethics” or “tragedy of the commons.”  From my point of view, the hardest but…

  • Leadership Quotes from Women Philosophers and #metoo

    Philosophy, historically, has been old white guys. The history of Western Philosophy is very male and my education… Kant, Hume, Mill, Rawls, Descartes, Leibniz, MacIntyre, Russell, Whitehead, Ayer, Popper, Quine, Williams went very far and deep before I ran across a woman.  Further, in the business classes I teach, leadership theory is replete with quotes…

  • Questioning the Ethics of Amazon HQ2

    Ethics in the News was a feature of my MBA class in Business Ethics when we discussed the breaking news of the day – I’ve decided to bring that feature to you Ethics in the News Amazon HQ2   Amazon finally chose two locations for its “HQ2”, New York and Virginia. At first blush, those looks…