Some time ago, I visited an underperforming company. Their Chairman of the Board asked me to spend time on a tour of the facility and to provide feedback. Once that was finished, I was asked what I thought. “You failed the mop test”, was my response. The...
Few items raise more concerns (complaints?) than the subject of meetings. Small or large, routine, or ad hoc, brief, or multi-day, meetings in organizations are known to be an unavoidable evil. We can do better. While there are helpful books on the subject...
As a long-time sports fan, I am taken by the number of head football coaches who are shown the door at the end of the season. There are many reasons for this; the most obvious being too many losses as is the case with my team this year (and the year before that,...
A recent Wall Street Journal article captures an emerging trend concerning a key management challenge: people. Executives are reviewing their strategies regarding team size, deployment, and overall employee contributions to the organization. Companies like Walmart,...
It seems to emerge as a common theme. A business hits a rough patch when nothing they try seems to work. Then, when all the innovating and experimentation is exhausted, a move back to basics ensues. So it is for coffee giant, Starbucks. According to a recent...
It’s been said that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” While I won’t argue against the importance of a high-performance culture, the fact is that organizations need both. Let’s take them one at a time, starting with culture. A recent Harvard Business Review...