Every business, even the corner hamburger joint, faces a wide variety of risks. A recent SEC filing from Burger King itemized 27 important risk areas investors should understand. While your company may not be in the retail food business, many of these risk areas will apply in your situation as well. Below is a list [...]
Barack Obama is engaged in “damage control” these days as he seeks to distance himself from his pastor’s incendiary remarks. While Obama’s eloquence will probably carry his campaign well past this media event, the situation provides an excellent example of a particularly difficult tightrope leaders walk. On one hand, a leader works hard to motivate [...]
Dominic’s Day is an fabulous example of how problem-focused coping behaviors sometimes spread to create a greater good. My colleague, Bill Kovach, connected me with this website, pointing out that it explained a “worthy cause.” Only later did I connect the dots and realize that Bill is little Dominic’s grandfather.
As I’ve written before, when there [...]
“I don’t think I’ve got anything else left to give. I know I can play, but I don’t want to.” This was quarterback Brett Favre’s tearful admission days ago as he announced his retirement from the Green Bay Packers. Though Favre’s timing may have been a surprise to some, the move from top performer to [...]
One of the most pervasive productivity-sapping workplace habits I see is something I call “truth reluctance.” Lots of people know something should be said, but no one is willing to step up and get the issue out in the open.
Here’s an example:
Susie’s job was “reorganized” in a merging of two departments three years ago. But [...]
It’s true that during crises people become real. Some corporate managers, recognizing this, have habitually practiced “crisis creation” during staff meetings, hoping to improve performance.
Here’s how it typically goes. At the weekly staff meeting, a worried-looking leader flings a management report across the table before stating in strained tones the team’s lack of progress [...]
I’ve said before that “Feedback is the food work teams live on.” If a group can’t give (and receive) honest performance feedback, productivity gains are just about impossible. While there is a simple model you can use for giving feedback effectively, there are, in my experience, four types of people who will have a hard [...]
The man spoke urgently, throwing his words together much faster than usual, a short burst of syllables followed quickly by a torrent. His father, it seemed, had died weeks before. Even though the passing wasn’t unexpected, my friend was feeling the loss. And the worst part about it, he said, was that the family, [...]
