How Online

Lots of explanations have been put forward for the financial meltdown, but in a blog posting at Harvard Business Publishing, management expert Tom Davenport offers up his own explanation: too many jerks in the wrong places, making bad decisions. I believe that collaboration can not only prevent bad decisions but become an engine of growth and innovation, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman.

A story about the “honor system” adopted by golf courses in Scotland caught my eye, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman. The courses allow golfers to pay green fees by dropping payment into an unmonitored box. The policy reflects the core traditions and values of golf: the qualities of honesty and integrity that have shaped the sport. And companies can learn a lot from the honor system.

Each week, Jack Welch and his wife, Suzy Welch, answer reader questions and share their views about “winning” on the back page of BusinessWeek. With Jack and Suzy off this week, the publication invited me to submit a column. It is meaningful for me to sit in, and I have taken the opportunity to talk about the role of trust and, specifically, how to extend trust as a business strategy.

Here’s an innovative idea: A handful of European towns are getting rid of their traffic signals and parking meters. I believe that there is a lesson here that is relevant to all of us, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman. It’s relevant to discussions on ways we can become more self-governing. The big idea: You don't need rules to generate good behavior.

In these troubled times, I’m inspired by leaders who are inspiring employees to reach new levels of success, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman. That’s why I was struck by the words of Douglas Conant, CEO of Campbell Soup Co., in a recent story. Conant has hit upon something that is essential for any organization: People that are actively engaged help move the organization forward.

As a CEO, I'm eager to put the recession to rest, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman. At the same time, how could we not take this opportunity to ask fundamental questions? Now that there are signs of recovery, there's a part of me — and I'm reluctant to admit this — that doesn't want things to get too good too fast. We could use more time to understand what went wrong with our economy.

Years ago, I heard about an unusual doughnut vendor who asked people to pay what they owed, and make change for themselves, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman. The practice told his customers that he trusted them to be honest. Indonesia’s cashier-free “honesty cafes” do the same thing. The best way to rebuild trust is to extend trust to others.

What can Flint, Mich., teach us about sustainability? Long-term strength and success do not always equate to size and scale. For the "shrinking city" of Flint, being sustainable now is not about how big it can get — it means thinking smaller, and that's a definition many of us may want to consider, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman.

Like many of you, I have followed the recent headlines related to Pope Benedict XVI's call for a "return to ethics in the global economy." I've been seeing this thinking in many arenas — and we cover it regularly on HOW Online — and I was meaningfully struck by his desire to see business reconnect with values in these troubled times, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman.

GM has been in the headlines lately for how they operate. Critics cite their "insular" culture as being out of touch, and the government is demanding that GM transform its corporate culture to become more competitive. That's why GM's leaders should think about leaning into the source of sustainable value in the world of 21st century business: corporate culture, says Dov Seidman.