More Articles
Plant performance: It comes down to intensity and respect
Talk about working in a fishbowl! Folks working for the TSA in airports most always perform to an impatient, critical, assessing audience, as most of us are forced to watch them work for much longer than we want. And if you’re just standing in line impatiently waiting, then observing and criticizing
Best-selling checklists?
As an unrepentant checklist fanatic/junkie, I recently had to pick myself up off the floor in an airport newsstand (not a bookstore, but a newsstand!). There with all the romance novels, Dan Brown books and the latest silver-bullet management books was The Checklist Manifesto by Dr. Atul Gawande. A best-selling
Why improvement efforts fail
Why do improvement efforts fail or perhaps not sustain the gains? There are many reasons, but those most often stated are “lack of commitment” and not “following the process”. But why is there lack of commitment, and why aren’t processes followed? Here are a few of the reasons
Improvements must be generated, implemented on a daily basis
I heard a radio interview some time back with Neil Sedaka. If the name is no longer familiar, he is probably one of the most successful songwriters of all time. His songs, more than 1,000 of them, (while not all are my favorites), are performed by many different and famous artists. How does he write?
Effective strategies for coaching and developing your employees
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
Manufacturing improvement and the Rolling Stones
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,
Effective communication: Turn this weakness into a strength
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
Are you a leader or are a manager? Do you know the difference?
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
Change is painful, difficult, a bother and (oh, by the way) a necessity
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,
Creating culture of involvement is challenging, but so worth it
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,
