The Old Fashioned Way…

Think back to the scenario I shared as we started digging into the biggest challenges we’re facing in the workplace today where my friend told his students they’d better have a really good excuse for not performing well in his class… He wasn’t just being harsh, he showed...

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The Court of Public Opinion

I maintain that I’ve never seen anyone truly value something they didn’t earn… I can’t think of classmates through high school who had some of the fanciest clothing, cars, or whatever but treated those things with very little respect. I remember watching numerous folks...

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There’s No Prize for Just Showing Up!

Having looked at some of the biggest challenges we’re facing in the workplace today, as well as some of the issues that come from handing out trophies to folks who aren’t even participating, let’s change gears and look at some things we do intentionally as leaders to avoid most...

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Cancel This!!!

When we’re willing to be actively engaged in that arena we looked at last time, taking action to make a difference for the team we’re a part of and for the people we care about, we won’t likely have a lot of time left over to worry about pointing fingers or placing blame. To...

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Don't Blame Me!

I’ll circle the wagons once more with that question my friend asked me recently; What are the biggest challenges you’re facing in the workplace today? As much as I’d like to, we can’t blame it all on the attorneys. I don’t even think the participation trophies I...

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At Least Participation Trophies Require Participation…

Since we’ve developed a foundation for some of the biggest challenges we’re facing in the workplace today, let’s move our focus so, just maybe, we can stop treating the symptoms and start addressing what’s actually causing those challenges! And even if we can’t...

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Square Pegs and Round Holes…

A lot of lawyers and only a few plumbers… Again, just a symptom of what I believe is a far bigger issue!

Somewhere between 1992 & 1994, as I had entered the workforce and was beginning to consider what my next steps would be after high school, my dad lined up some time for me to talk...

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Walk Softly, and Don’t Upset Anyone!

With that story about how my friend provided his student a priceless life lesson fresh in your mind, let’s circle back to what I believe is one of the biggest challenges in the workplace today: too many lawyers! If you’re an NCIS fan, think Rule #13… “Never involve...

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What Are the Biggest Challenges You’re Facing in the Workplace Today?

Over the last few weeks, I’ve started developing a friendship with a gentleman who teaches at a local university. I had seen him from a distance nearly every time I’ve been at the gym since Cindy and I moved our membership there six months or so ago, but we just hadn’t crossed...

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You Matter!

Let’s assume we’ve accepted our leadership responsibility and we’ve actually following through by doing the work necessary to make sure our team members are indeed measuring the right things so they have a clear picture of their performance AND we’ve provided them with...

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Now Serving… Wait a Minute, Who are We Serving?

Periodically, a parade of managers would gather around those nifty bulletin boards I mentioned last time and they’d expect the area lead person to give them a run down of everything that was plotted on all the charts they were supposed to be updating each hour. In the cases where the lead...

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Good Job! But Based on What?

As I think back to the nearly two decades I worked in a manufacturing facility, it seems like we measured everything! If you’ve ever been through an ISO-9000 audit, or whatever the number is now (it was TS-16949 in the automotive manufacturing world as recently as eight years ago), you know...

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