"It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory." W. Edwards Deming wrote that iconic line in the sixties and it could have been written last week. This was illustrated dramtically when Alan Greenspan recently apologized to America for not knowing that the cowboy bankers were ruining …
change
Performance v. Presence
I don’t understand why some managers resist hiring talented people because they want some form of flex time. Or want to work from home. If you've already jumped on the flex bus, that’s the right thinking. Because in this economy (and forever more, most likely) you have to attract and keep talent in …
Are you Brand X?
Companies spend billions trying to create compelling brands. Jello. Kleenex. Hellmann’s Mayonnaise. People have brands, too, and as a manager you surely have a brand in the eyes of your employees. Whether you know it or not. I recently went to my official, well organized digital card storage file …
The Big Foam Finger
I think that every manager should go out and get one of those big foam fingers you see at sporting events. In the office, let’s call it the Flying Finger of Blame. There is an epidemic at the workplace called the blame game, where blaming someone/anyone/everyone else is now the norm. And it …
Better Communication.
'Better communication' is possibly the most overused phrase in business. And probably the #1 most desired outcome. How to do it? The answers fill thousands of books and websites, but here’s a new rule for communication that just might be an answer for you: The person initiating the communication is …
How To Operate – YOU
Operating instructions come with every electronic item we buy. Even the simple stuff. The manual for an iron shows how to plug it into the wall. Flight attendants still show us how to insert the strap into the seatbelt clip. (Why do they still demonstrate that??) We might not read the …