Do You Have an Employment Contract, Really…
In a series of recent discussions, I was reminded of the need for one of the most basic of all employment matters. The employment contract. NO, I am not talking about an actual written, legal document, although those are handy in many situations. Rather I am talking about having a very detailed discussion with every […]
Procedures? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Procedures
Managers and leaders at all levels rely on process and procedure to execute scalable and sustainable delivery of the work they do. Yet from time to time, you will hear talk of being totally free-form in the operation of a business. Results speak for themselves. When you dive deep into the leadership success story of […]
May the 4th Be With You
This article is being written right before July 4th, Independence Day in America. As soon as I pen those words I am hit with a dump truck of irony. I usually enjoy writing my holiday articles where I get to reflect a bit, rejoice in the spirit of the day, and encourage you to celebrate […]
Understanding the New Normal for Leadership
For too many decades, the word leadership meant a title and a box on an org chart somewhere. Yes, there were people who truly understood leadership and exercised it effectively, but big business managers failed, for the most part, to operate with true leadership principles. Before we move on, remember one thing – leading is […]
What Are You Waiting For?
There comes a time in life when you’ve done all the thinking, study, analysis, and planning you can do. You reach a decision point. Then it happens. You freeze. You cannot go forward. You’re stuck. The question is then, what are you waiting for? What is it that holds you back, makes you balk? How […]
Four Stages of Effective Communication for Managers
Managers face a constant struggle to improve communication within their work teams. Besides being able to accurately articulate any technical aspects about the work (every industry has its key phrases, terms, and buzz words), business leaders have to be ever-mindful of some very basic principles of effective communication. We usually think about communication as a […]
Don’t Be a Squirrel When It Comes to Decision Making
Where I live we have a large population of squirrels. These are ferril critters who run, jump, dig in flower beds, and swing in the trees. Sadly, when you drive thru the neighborhoods, it is not uncommon to find dead squirrels on the road. Why? Well, if you watch one of the spunky guys run […]
SWOT Yourself
There’s a popular business analysis tool known as S.W.O.T. It provides a method for looking at strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. SWOT reviews are done for business issues of all kinds like competition, market position, product design, sales, and technology. As applied to a business, you can see the merit of doing this review periodically. […]
Leaders Getting It Right
Over the last couple of months, I’ve had the pleasure of watching a manager guide his team through a very successful series of events and opportunities. The way he has mastered the leadership of his interesting group has just been amazing to me. I’ve watched them overcome great obstacles, some uncertainty, and definite challenges to […]
You’re On Mute
It’s a familiar phrase that has rapidly risen to the top of our vocabulary while we attempt to engage and conduct business remotely. Zoom, Teams, Google Spaces, and Slack have risen to the top of the heap for connecting these days. Yet often as the session opens up, someone has that little red “X” showing […]