Organizations, by their very nature, are designed to create processes and systems. There’s a good reason for this: there’s a need for the various parts to work together to create outputs. On one hand, this makes sense: without results, we won’t stay in business. But on the other hand, there’s a flaw in the design: … Read more
Connected. Collaborative. Creative.How well do these qualities describe the team you lead? In today’s workplace, no one gets far working on an island. Effective teamwork is critical for success.Intuitively, you already know that. When a team is ‘humming’, you feel it. On the flip side, when a team is struggling, you feel it too. You … Read more
As a child, I remember being dragged to a department store by my mother (what 10 year old boy likes going shopping?) and having to serve as the interpreter between my Mom and the sales clerk. I should mention: I’m no polyglot. I only speak English. Both my Mom and the clerk were speaking English; it’s … Read more
The first meeting was over the phone, two weeks ago. I was speaking to Bart, a Senior Marketing Manager at a Fortune 500 consumer products company. Bart was my principal point of contact. The purpose of our call was for Bart to prep me– provide relevant context and the desired outcomes for a leadership training … Read more
The professional basketball league (NBA) is about halfway through their 82 game regular season. The #1 ranked team in the Eastern Conference is the Cleveland Cavaliers. Last season’s Eastern Conference Champions, the Cavs currently have a record of 30 wins and 11 losses. On Friday, they fired their head coach, David Blatt. Yes, you read … Read more
This past Saturday, my wife Mary and I went out for dinner with another couple (Mike and Liz) at a local Italian restaurant.After sharing an appetizer of Gorgonzola Garlic Bread, we waited for our entrees to arrive.Mary and Liz had both ordered the Beet Salad. Mike had ordered Eggplant Parmesan. I’d ordered Pan-Seared Salmon.Our waitress … Read more
It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question. Eugene Ionesco In a knowledge economy, your ability to create value is in direct proportion to your ability to ask a good question. Let’s be honest: You’re not really interested in getting more information. What you want is insight. Insight fuels your ability to make better … Read more
Every leader (and organization) has its strengths. Where do the strengths serve well? Where do they incur costs? I led the following awareness-building exercise with a team of leaders at a manufacturing organization. You can try it with alone, or with your team. Leadership Quality Awareness Exercise Think back on all the leaders you’ve ever … Read more
When was the last time you were in a meeting, and heard the presenter say: I know this next slide is an eye chart, but… And then you see something like this:Your eyes scan the page, but can’t stop moving.Your head starts to swim.You get nauseous.You want to run from the room screaming.Welcome to Death … Read more
How do your customers like working with you? Customer (in this context) can be either external or internal. External customers are what we think of as the ‘traditional’ customer.Internal customers can be anyone who is upstream or downstream in the value chain: colleagues, direct reports, managers, suppliers, contractors. We all like it when our customers are easy … Read more
