Transmissions, pistons, and filters rarely get top billing on car commercials but everyone knows that a failure in one of these can quickly require a tow truck. Service departments organize their maintenance of your complicated vehicle by inspecting each of the important systems regularly. Just like your car’s systems work together, your work group harnesses [...]
While the term custodian often refers to the person who cleans and maintains a building, custodian can also mean one who safeguards and protects any company asset. For example, a custodian bank holds equities and bonds in safekeeping, all the while collecting and disseminating information about the condition of those assets to interested others. For [...]
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 [...]
In over twenty years of working with clients in various industries, I’ve seen some of the same problems pop up over and over. This blog will allow me to share some of those problems (and their potential solutions) with a wider audience. Feel free to comment here, whether you agree or disagree with my conclusions.Some [...]
