Some organizations, especially ones that are more bureaucratic can begin to develop a culture where the punishment for mistakes exceeds the praise for success. Organizations can get bogged down because employees are focused on playing it safe, fearing career-limiting consequences for making mistakes. In sporting terms, they play defense more than offence. This hiding tendency…
Details“Courage is fear holding on one minute longer.” – Gen. George S. Patton As the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks draw near, like so many of you, I can vividly recall where I was and what I felt as I watched the horrific events of that day unfold. It’s been said that…
DetailsEveryone gets stuck in a rut. It happens to us all whether we are presidents, students, managers, baseball players, or stay-at-home parents. We might have days, weeks, or even months, where we feel like we’ve lost our focus, take longer than necessary to achieve goals, or simply become disconnected from our work. It’s not a…
DetailsWhen we head to the amusement park, a favorite game is Whack-a-mole where the little critters stick their heads up and you try to whack them with a mallet. The person with the highest score wins a prize. Management and supervision can be like playing a never-ending game of whack-a-mole except there usually is no…
DetailsI am a fan of the theory and research linking one’s level of adult development to one’s effectiveness as a leader. One of the hallmarks of more highly developed human beings (and bosses too, of course, they being humans and all) is their degree of in-the-moment self-awareness. Let’s look at just three levels of awareness:…
Details“Never interrupt someone doing what you said couldn’t be done.” –Amelia Earhart The book, The World’s Worst Predictions, records some of the worst predictions ever made in history. Among some of the more notable bad predictions include how in 1773, King George II said that the American colonies had little stomach for revolution. Another reveals…
DetailsDetails are the finishing touch that bring back your customers for future business. A colleague of mine manages nearly forty commission sales people. The “best of the best” make huge income and are revered in the top 100 of a large, multinational company. What is their secret? Make the customer feel special – like…
DetailsToday we look at the one or two bottom performing employees you might have on your team or in your company. It could be job performance related or it could be negativity or behavior problems. Can they be ‘fixed’ or should you let them go and move forward with hiring a replacement? An HR Manager…
DetailsDo you ask your employees as often as you tell them what to do and what you think? In my experience, most managers don’t, not even close. Elsewhere in my blog (Build Best Bosses) I have offered four reasons why this is so. But if you have no answer to the above question, I invite…
DetailsThe circumstances of life, the events of life, and the people around me in life do not make me the way I am, but revel the way I am. – Sam Peeples, Jr. In a Sports Illustrated story years back, Gary Smith relates the suffering of the late North Carolina State basketball coach Jim Valvano…
DetailsLast week we revealed a tale of Leadership Lost: A man, who dedicated his life to a cause he believed in, employed thousands and put his grandchildren’s children through college. And yet, if you walked out of college on to his team you might be met with less vision and a whole lot of limitations.…
DetailsCould laziness be the most powerful motivator of all? And if it is, how can you use this to your advantage? As a people watcher have you ever noticed that the majority of people gravitate to the easiest way of accomplishing a task? Instead of being aggravated as a manager or supervisor, perhaps you should…
DetailsType in the words ‘succession planning’ into a Google news search. Most likely, you’ll find several articles discussing succession planning, or lack thereof, at Apple, Inc. Now, I don’t mean to pick on Apple here, but the issue of succession management appears to serve as a constant woe to Apple stakeholders and the company’s board.…
DetailsGetting people to like you is merely the other side of liking them. -Norman Vincent Peale A big factor in how people judge you in your interactions, meetings, transactions and presentations is based on your likeability or perceived likeability. Theodore Roosevelt stated, “The most important single ingredient in the formula for success is knowing how…
Details“Rest and motion, unrelieved and unchecked, are equally destructive.” – Benjamin Cardozo A story is told of a man who challenged another to an all day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day.…
Details
