Posts Tagged ‘ teaching ’

Less Dad, more Grandpa

December 12, 2011

Several times, I have heard people say that we need to get rid of the paternalistic, parenting relationships at work and gravitate more towards relationships based on patience, trust and mentoring. Every time I hear that sentiment, I get a shiver up my Dad spine, because it tends to reflect a lot of things about parenting that are, however unfortunate, full of grains of truth. Dads are expected to be authoritative. Their decisions are non-negotiable. They never show pain or fear. They have answers even when they don’t. Oh, and the last thing you ever want to do is piss...

The Waste of Interpretation

December 6, 2011

By David M. Kasprzak

Say what you mean. Mean what you say. Speaking clearly is just another one of those things that seems like it ought to be easy to do, yet remains remarkably elusive. Very often, when we’re speaking, we will say something that makes perfect sense to us, but our audience doesn’t understand. When we’re listening, we tend to try and re-phrase the speaker’s words, figuring that we need to “get what they mean.” What we don’t do very well, as either speaker or listener, is try to understand the others’ point of view, or anticipate how they will react. This...

Understanding why: Developing Critical Thinking in kids

December 5, 2011

By David M. Kasprzak

Understanding why: Developing Critical Thinking in kids

When faced with information that contradicts our understanding of the way things are supposed to be, we revert back to what we already know, claiming disbelief in the rightness of what we're seeing and failing to examine the situation in order to develop a new understanding. We are told to follow the rules, even if we don't understand them, and we insist on following the rules even when it is pointed out that those rules were based on false assumptions.

Role of Finance in Process Improvement

November 8, 2011

By David M. Kasprzak

I caught a great article from Brad Power that was posted a couple weeks ago on the Harvard Busines Review, entitled "Shifting Finance from Controlling to Improving." What Power demonstrates are several CFO's who have endeavored to make understanding finances simple to those who don't live & breathe it in daily lives. They change the terminology to something more intutitve. They measure performance in a way that makes bottom-line impacts intutive. They help to spread the word about Lean to others with no-nonsense, easily articulated, and most importantly - easily acted-upon information.

Ideas, not answers

November 1, 2011

By David M. Kasprzak

My 6-year-old son has show-and-tell at school every Friday. The night before his most recent presetation, I asked him what he wanted to bring to school. He simply said, “Hmmm….I don’t know!” and shrugged his shoulders, waiting for me to give him something he could use. It was then that my improvement genes went into hyperdrive, not to mention my parenting genes, too. “Well, let’s just come up with some ideas.” I told him. “You know, just some brainstorming.” “Umm…geee, I – I really just can’t think of anything.” “Really??” I said, “you have no thoughts at all??” “Well,...

Meeting the Teacher

October 6, 2011

By Cindi Rigsbee

Let's say a doctor has to have surgery. Do you think he walks into the operating room, holding his surgical gown closed with one hand and examining the instruments with the other? Does he look at the sheet that will cover him, checking to see if it's sterile? Does he check the temperature of the room, ensuring that it's at a comfort level that will be conducive to a successful surgery? I don't know if all of that happens, but I know some rather intense scrutiny ensues when a teacher attends a child's Meet the Teacher night.

Get the Big Picture

September 20, 2011

By Christian Paulsen

The Toyota Way Fieldbook is an interesting read for Lean thinkers looking to sharpen their sword. Chapter 14 is titled Develop a Thorough Understanding and states that if we fail to look at a problem in the larger context we may limit the possible solutions and impact. On the other hand, examining a problem in the larger context will provide 3 distinct advantages: Capturing the most significant opportunity allows you to achieve the best results with the least effort. More bang for the buck! Examining the issue from the larger view opens the possibility of solving the real issue by correcting root causes...

Irises and Sweet Bubby Bushes

September 16, 2011

By Cindi Rigsbee

In so many ways, we are who came before us. In many other ways, we are the antithesis of our ancestors, fighting to do better, have more, and be more than our parents and grandparents. Today I sifted through artifacts (trinkets, my daughter called them) of my grandparents' life.

Setting the tone: 10 tips for leadership

August 29, 2011

By David M. Kasprzak

We’ve all been put into situations where we need to take control of a situation early on. Otherwise, we’ll find ourselves constantly looking up at a perch of credibility and respect we’ll have to work hard to climb up to, if we can even get there at all. With that in mind, I came across a post that offered some advice for getting hold of a group right at the start, and establishing the necessary sense of authority without turning yourself into a dictator. The author offered the following 10 steps that I thought seemed to encapsulate the principles...

The leadership lessons of Roadhouse

August 16, 2011

By David M. Kasprzak

If you grew up in the 1980′s, or if you just like watching reruns on basic cable, you’ve probably seen the 1989 Patrick Swayze film, Roadhouse, about 3 or 4 thousand times. In this scene, Swayze’s character, Dalton, is introduced as the new “Cooler” of the Roadhouse: Ignoring the big hair for a moment, let’s look at the situation a little differently. First off, what we are witnessing is an exercise in culture change. Going from a blood & guts roadhouse to a decent night club is going to require a different mindset among the staff. The way...

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Posts Tagged ‘ teaching ’

Less Dad, more Grandpa

The Waste of Interpretation

Understanding why: Developing Critical Thinking in kids

Role of Finance in Process Improvement

Ideas, not answers

Meeting the Teacher

Get the Big Picture

Irises and Sweet Bubby Bushes

Setting the tone: 10 tips for leadership

The leadership lessons of Roadhouse

Get your Memory Joggers!

CIG for Small Business by Gina Abudi

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