I learned many things as an executive at the University of Chicago Medical Center. One of the most important lessons was that senior executives don’t like getting emails or phone calls from irate customers. I received my fair share of forwarded emails with a simple two word introduction: “Fix this.”It’s not that these executives don’t …
Read more “It’s lonely at the top – and people are always yelling at you”
This week, blogger Jim Wells has an excellent post regarding a common myth associated with six sigma and other quality techniques. The myth is that these techniques will magically provide knowledge and insight. Jim argues that in fact, these tools are only as effective as the knowledge of the person using them and the data …
The other day, while standing in front of the mirror, I realized something scary. My criteria for success has changed. I used to ask myself whether I looked good. Now I ask myself whether I don’t look too bad. I’m not sure exactly when this changed but it did. I changed my focus from “winning” …
Read more “Playing to win – What high school wrestling can teach us about business success”
I recently gave a talk on critical thinking. One audience member firmly asserted that critical thinking is fine during planning when you have time. However, he said, it has no place during execution. His case in point, the Army. You can’t have soldiers thinking about their mission. They just need to execute their orders. I …
I was involved in an interesting discussion today. The group was trying to determine how to be more effective at driving collaboration in their organizations. This discussion has been going on for a long time. The emergence of social media has rekindled it by providing a new arsenal of tools from which to draw. But …
Read more “Forget social media. There’s a more powerful way to encourage collaboration.”
As a leader, you’ve probably been bombarded with six sigma and lean. Should you do it? How do you do it? Does it make sense in a non-manufacturing setting?Jim Wells, a Master Blackbelt in Six Sigma, is sharing his experience in a great new blog called, “Quality in Practice”. This blog isn’t about theory. This …
Read more “There’s a new blog in town – I recommend it to all leaders”
Do you ever notice how meetings that begin as a discussion about a particular issue, quickly devolve into a debate about the right process for discussing the issue. Typically, at the end of such meetings, there is no consensus on a process, or more importantly, a solution for fixing the issue.Sometimes this happens overtly – …
Read more “Managers provide process, Leaders provide content”
What are the three most important questions you use to determine whether you are being successful? If you are like many people, your answer might be:1. Am I adding value?2. Am I focused on the right things?3. Am I meeting my customer’s needs?Those seem reasonable but they are the wrong questions. More importantly, they are …
Here’s a challenge. You have to get your organization to work in new ways but your workforce is well versed and even committed to the old ways. Sound familiar? Many leaders are finding themselves in this position. They have a vision but can’t seem to get it executed. Certainly, sometimes the issue is the leader. …
I commonly get asked how to teach “leaders” to be leaders. My answer is always the same. Don’t. You can certainly hone and refine a person’s leadership skills. But, if a person is responsible for leading others and doesn’t already have basic leadership skills, it’s too late. Why do some many companies put unqualified people …