Each and every day, we encounter phrases that express the difficulty with which work gets done. We talk about jumping through hoops, herding cats, or (egads!) pulling teeth. All of these phrases express a frustration with the woeful inefficiency we must deal with in order to unravel contradictory policies, unclear direction, internal political competitions and [...]
Leadership and Management Effectiveness: Training the Bear (Literally)
June 28, 2010 By 1 Comment
So, I’m getting caught up after a family vacation to New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Valley. Among the amusement parks, water slides, train rides, over-excited children, over-tired parents, souvenirs, and ice cream sundaes, I came across one of the most amazing examples of effectively managing another’s performance I’ve ever seen. About 200 or more people gathered [...]
The Problem is Knowing What the Problem is.
June 21, 2010 By 2 Comments
Often, when talking to managers about some challenge they are facing, I’ll get a brief history of what they are dealing with, including what was done by the last manger(s) and what inititaive(s) were tried in the past, with little or no success. Sometimes, they’ll even go on at length about exactly what was done, [...]
Inefficient Problem Solving: Doing Something Doesn’t Mean Doing Anything.
June 4, 2010 By 4 Comments
When the answer to a problem doesn’t present itself immediately, taking the spray-and-pray approach can be disastrous. In such instances, people are usually more concerned with looking like they are doing something, so they simply get busy doing anything. Studying the problem is, in many cases, not allowed due to the need to appear busy. When people are busy doing anything, they are focusing their energies away from identifying the root cause and creating long-term, sustainable solutions. [Read more]
Best of MFP: To All Employees: Get up and Get out
May 27, 2010 By 13 Comments
On three separate occasions throughout my career, I’ve had my boss tell me: 1) That I produced more work, more quickly, than they had expected, however, 2) I seemed to spend a lot of time away from my desk. Despite my productivity, I was chastised for being “too chatty” or “spending too much time talking [...]
Best of MFP: Leadership: Not for Followers.
May 24, 2010 By 5 Comments
Are those who are labeled “Leaders” truly leaders, or do they follow? There are many people in leadership positions, who have achieved that rank through their ability to implement their superiors’ decisions. In the act of doing so, these people demonstrate their ability to do what is required of them, and do it well. It’s [...]
Focus on the Problem: Your Customer is a Lens
May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment
“Focus on the customer” might be an overused phrase. It also might be entirely wrong. At the very least, it’s inaccurate. Consider this familiar, but still powerful, example: You work in a hardware store. One day, Bill comes in and indicates he wants a drill. What does Bill need? You might be tempted to say [...]
Operations, Change, Innovation, Strategy, Culture and Waste: How it All Fits Together
May 13, 2010 By 4 Comments
There are limitless writings on each of these topics. Obviously, each one contributes to the degree of success, or failure, an organization experiences, but how do they all fit together? Each one has an affect on the others, but how can this dynamic be represented? My answer is that each of these elements can be [...]
The Best Advice Ever: Never Point at a Problem.
May 10, 2010 By 12 Comments
Several years ago, when I was just a couple years out of college, I strutted into my boss’s office with (what I thought at the time) was a brilliant observation. I declared there were a number of activities going on within our department that were in violation of approved procedures and policies. I laid out [...]
Employee Recognition Doesn’t Require Vision. It Requires Visibility.
May 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I was standing and talking with a newly-minted Department Manager in his office one day, discussing ways to help increase employee morale. He was thinking over the company’s Team of the Month program. Fortunately, there was one. Unfortunately, the teams were each nominated by a co-worker or 1st-line supervisor, who then passed along the nominations to Senior [...]
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