Group Dynamic

Several posts have had a focus on behavior and giving frequent specific feedback.

These things are among the wisest a leader can do, and yet Read the rest of this entry »

It was fun to add the Facebook “like” button to the blog to see if anyone really liked the posts…

So, here are Read the rest of this entry »

In response to that article,

I wrote this:

The Governor was spot-on in Sunday’s Register when he points out that “passionate and self-motivated” teachers are best — research backs that up, too — and that those things are “not easy to measure or reward.”

It’s okay that Read the rest of this entry »

Here we are at Avonlea Village (for you Anne of Green Gables fans) on our last trip to Canada in 2009.

As I wrote this, I was preparing for family vacation to Manitoba. Yes, that’s right, Manitoba. That’s where we were when this was going to get published on June 29.  Unfortunately, I goofed up the scheduling, so we went a week without the blog; reminder: during this busy summer season, I’m taking a break from original posts and instead, sharing “greatest hits.”

Anyway…

Why Manitoba? Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone loves stories.  Stories inspire and motivate and help things “stick” so much better than facts, data, and research findings. Read the rest of this entry »

Some of us enjoy the tidy list. Nice to have as a touchstone, though if we’re serious, we’ll dig deeper. Regardless, here are two for your consideration.

The first is seminal for me – Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes when I bowl, I make it my goal to bowl fast and loud.  I accelerate my approach, and fling the ball as fast as I can.  The result?  It’s really loud when the ball hits the pins (if it hits the pins) and my game ends more quickly.  My score is also lower.  If the goal is to be fast and loud, I win!  If the goal is to win, I lose. I am efficient, but not effective.

In high school chemistry, my lab partner (Steve Uslabar, for you curious old cronies) and I had a motto: “Accuracy is not important; speed is of the essence.”  We were both fairly good at chem, and would rather get a B and goof off part of the period, even though we were capable of an A.  Efficient, not effective.

“Learn from your mistakes.”  Nonsense!   Read the rest of this entry »

It is good to be efficient, and it’s also good to be comprehensive. Sometimes those two things don’t work very well together. Over the last 12 years or so, most of my work helping groups has been through 4 to 8 hour leadership workshops. However, there is a demand for leadership training that can be delivered in much shorter periods of time.

This has forced me to work with previous clients to find out which “nuggets” have made the biggest difference for them in terms of their leadership success.  These may not be the most important aspects of leadership, but they are the ones that made the most difference in the shortest amount of time.

There are three.  I have started referring to these as “The Big Three.”

Number One: The Four Levels of Maturity. Read the rest of this entry »

T=r+d

…where T is “trust,” r is “reliability,” and d is “delight.”

I attended EntreFest 2011, and one of the best sessions I attended was Read the rest of this entry »

In light of the earlier posts regarding generational differences, this article adds nicely to those thoughts:

Why Gen Y-ers are Better at Customer Service : The World :: American Express OPEN Forum.

As a guy obsessed with maxing out potential in groups and individuals – and one who believes the person at the top is the one most responsible for making it happen – I was pretty fired up about the concept of Undercover Boss.  In each episode, a CEO goes undercover, in disguise, to work next to front-line employees.

The format got tired quickly – boss leaves fancy home and doting family, stays in fleabag hotels, realizes he/she is totally inept at frontline tasks, discovers that employees are (gasp!) real people with real problems, cries (most episodes), promises to change, and gives lavish rewards to the episode’s featured employees.

What a great concept – and what a disappointment in a show.   Read the rest of this entry »

At the entrance to the service bay of Toyota of Des Moines is a small, plastic, a-frame sign that says simply

“SERVICE ENTRANCE”

and then, toward the bottom,

“Welcome”

Last week, Read the rest of this entry »