CommLog

A member of our firm, when talking about coaching very senior “C-Suite” executives often says, “If you want to coach these people, you have to be these people.” His point is that people only trust advisors whom they feel understand their perspective, and in particular, appreciate the nuances of the business challenges they face. To that point, we’re constantly coaching communication professionals and senior managers alike to develop their business acumen. The deeper your appreciation of business and strategy the closer your seat is to the table, and you have to continually sharpen your strategic business saw if you want to add value to or as a senior officer. Here’s a great resource for doing so: MIT’s OpenCourseWare, a free, open publication of MIT’s course materials. This includes the course materials of the Sloan School of Management, one of the most prestigious business schools on the planet. So, interested in sharpening up on your understanding of operations? Check out the student presentations and readings for Theory of Operations Management. Lots at Sloan on leadership and communication as well. (Hat tip to Free Enterprise Blog.)