My grandfather’s philosophy when he started the business was if we had a great product, people would find us. This was true then, has been over time and still is. However, if we truly want to grow and get better, it will not be sufficient. This sentence accurately summed up the culture for many years. […]

Think back to the week before you started your job.  You’ve discovered a new opportunity, pursued it and won.  You have been chosen to take a position in a great company.  You are bought into the vision and excited about what you anticipate achieving, both as an individual and as an organization.  The possibilities seem […]

Over the past week or two, there seems to have been a theme of confidence to the several of my conversations.  Several have been around personal confidence and several have been around confidently stating competitive business positioning.  I feel I must now definitively state that it is OK to have confidence and act like it. […]

Stop using management buzz words and start using your own vernacular! Nothing drives me crazier or causes me to tune someone out faster than the latest leadership jargon. It does not prove you have the ability to lead or some great knowledge, only that you’ve read the latest leadership books. An argument can be made […]

As a manufacturer, we tend to have a production hiring mentality: you only hire when there is work to do.  Our hiring practice has been to add staff very conservatively and only when the sales exist to justify the addition.  This mentality works great for production staff and efficiencies.  It is insufficient when it comes […]

Those that have the explicit job to lead, tend to receive the most formal training.  It is my belief that leadership is an ongoing journey and that leaders are always improving.  As a leader we are required to work with so many different personalities and if we are doing our jobs well, those around us […]

Every organization has a group of people that have tremendous influence without titles.  Oftentimes these can be the most influential in changing culture.  These are also the individuals with tremendous potential for future development that has yet to be realized.  A formal training program can be helpful, but generally wasted because since these individuals do […]

If your direct supervisor is perfectly satisfied with your performance, find a new leader.  Working for someone that is 100% satisfied, means that they will not challenge you to be better.  This is a dead end.  This will be the end of growth. This is not a call to quit your job, though that may […]

Yesterday was unexpectedly great because I had an unexpectedly great meeting.  Every Monday, our management team meets, always with a pre-planned agenda.  This particular meeting was to be a review of financial reports and I was notified 20 minutes before the meeting that the reports were not ready.  Thus, the agenda was essentially empty.  I […]

In every organization there are individuals that just want to do their job.  They serve the organization by coming to work, putting their head down and following their leadership. These employees are most likely to be engaged by formal systems, especially measurement and rewards.  Employees in this category thrive on keeping their head down and […]