Purposeful Action Blog

This is a special discussion of a case study applying the Four Principles of Purposeful Action to GM’s decline over the past two decades, with special focus on the company’s most recent and rapid deterioration.
General guidelines are included at the end of this post.
The case study is centered on two discussion topics.
1.   Discuss GM [...]

Dear Friends:
This post is a test, as we construct our new Video Channel on Purposeful Action. Real video posts will be in the form of questions, similar to our written blog posts. For example, the video segment embedded below provides the basis for creating several individual discussion videos, opening the way for comments by viewers, [...]

There are four basic levels of desire. The second level of desires includes wealth, power, and respect.
How do desires from the the second level specifically relate to corporations under the current economic conditions?
How should corporations manage these desires to remain successful in the current state of the economy?
Discuss these questions in the context of the Four [...]

How does passion for what we do impact our success?
Is passion addictive or does it change over time and as careers progress?
What do the actions of today’s corporate leaders tell us about their passion?
How has their passion changed over their careers - to get them to the position they are in today?
Discuss these questions in [...]

As our nation’s economic speedboat threatens to run aground, the economic crisis is a hot topic everywhere including our blog discussions as well.
What can you say about the acceptance of accountability, or the lack thereof, by our leaders - for this economic disaster?’
Has a sense of victimization spread rampant through our society, alleviating all responsibility?
It seems [...]

Here are video clips from a talk on Technology Leadership and Ethics by Prem Chopra at the Chattanooga Engineers Club on Monday, February 9, 2009.
Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 4    Part 5
Comments are welcome…
P.S. Venkat, who recorded and edited this talk, is exploring ways to improve the exposure (the lights we dimmed to [...]

In the accompanying post, we discuss the global distress resulting from the dramatic nosedive of world economies.  The general belief is that this situation was brought about by greed and corruption in financial firms, while our government loosened regulations and oversight. Most of you will agree that the lack of integrity (excerpt from lecture in [...]

We are all aware of the dramatic nosedive of the stock markets, which has eroded trillions of dollars from the value of US and foreign corporations, and is causing economic stress globally.  A CNBC TV series suggests that a major cause for this situation, at least in this country, is American Greed. Others blame our [...]

The following article is excerpted from a lecture by Prem Chopra at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga in September 2006. The text of the entire lecture can be found in Masters of the Game: Reaching Beyond the Nexus to Success and Happiness.
Make Integrity a Habit
Some individuals search for ways to do the least to get [...]