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Manufacturing improvement and the Rolling Stones

Manufacturing improvement and the Rolling Stones

By John Crossan • on October 24, 2009

If you’re like me, you’ve listened to the Rolling Stones over the years. Their contemporaries, the Beatles, became more artistic and lyrical as they evolved. (”Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” as Jerry Seinfeld would say.) But for driving party music, the Stones, even after all these years, are still hard for

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Effective strategies for coaching and developing your employees

Effective strategies for coaching and developing your employees

By Debbie Zmorenski • on November 20, 2009

Performance coaching is not about disciplinary action, nor is it about accountability (although it may promote accountability in the long term). It is really about leadership development - teaching your team of supervisors, managers and leaders the skills and behaviors that are necessary to perform their

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Effective communication: Turn this weakness into a strength

Effective communication: Turn this weakness into a strength

By Debbie Zmorenski • on October 2, 2009

Corporate leaders are trained in economics, strategy and a variety of other business skills. Few are trained in communication, yet experts agree that communication is one of the most important skills leaders should have on their list of competencies. To ensure successful communications within your

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Are you a leader or are a manager? Do you know the difference?

Are you a leader or are a manager? Do you know the difference?

By Debbie Zmorenski • on September 22, 2009

Leaders who lead by example are mentors and role models, building business results through relationships and integrity. Before delving into the topic of Leadership Example, it is helpful to define leaders and leadership. Beginning with the root word of lead, Webster’s Dictionary defines lead as

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Work/life lessons and 16 important things to ponder

Work/life lessons and 16 important things to ponder

By Rex Gallaher • on August 12, 2009

This is my last blog submission until later this year. It has been an interesting nine months, and I have heard from a lot of my fellow maintenance professionals. My self-interest in doing this has been to somehow improve the lives of all who toil for a living. I have had as an undercurrent the “spirituality”

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Change is painful, difficult, a bother and (oh, by the way) a necessity

Change is painful, difficult, a bother and (oh, by the way) a necessity

By Debbie Zmorenski • on July 27, 2009

This blog article will cover the element of Change from the VOICE (Vision, Organization, Involvement, Change and Example) model. Great organizations are always changing. I don’t mean change for the sake of change; I mean planned, structured, progressive change that enables organizations to grow,

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Creating culture of involvement is challenging, but so worth it

Creating culture of involvement is challenging, but so worth it

By Debbie Zmorenski • on June 24, 2009

In my previous blog article, we discussed the leader’s vision and how to compellingly and passionately communicate the vision in order to motivate and inspire people to take action. We also discussed the importance of structuring your organization for success and including, as part of that structure,

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Great leaders speak with a resounding VOICE!

Great leaders speak with a resounding VOICE!

By Debbie Zmorenski • on June 15, 2009

You have probably heard the saying, “People don’t leave jobs, they leave leaders.” So, what does it take to be a leader (person in charge [PIC], supervisor, manager, executive) for whom people love to work? What are the things that they do, the skills and behaviors that they demonstrate,

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How to create a culture by design to retain right-fit talent

How to create a culture by design to retain right-fit talent

By Debbie Zmorenski • on May 29, 2009

In my last blog, I presented strategies for managing layoffs. Hopefully you have not had to downsize, or maybe you’ve completed this difficult process and are ready to move forward. It seems contradictory to speak about retaining right-fit talent when thousands of organizations have had to let some

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The art of managing layoffs: What to do when cuts are unavoidable

The art of managing layoffs: What to do when cuts are unavoidable

By Debbie Zmorenski • on May 8, 2009

Prior to layoffs, you must maintain lines of open communication regarding the state of the company. The idea of keeping bad news from employees never works. They often hear through the grapevine or even the news media that the company is struggling. If you do not share this information with them, you

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