What lessons can the space shuttle Challenger and Columbia disasters teach us that we can apply in business? According to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, NASA never fixed the underlying institutional problems that led to the 1986 Challenger tragedy. As a result, many of them played a role in Columbia’s doomed flight in February […]
I’ll admit it. I’m an email addict. I’m a people-pleasing baby boomer who wants to be on the ball and prove my worth by the speed of my response. On average I check email 30-40 times an hour: It’s the first thing I do in the morning, the last thing I do at night and […]
Why do so many people start a new business, only to fail? According to the Commerce Department 80 percent of all new businesses close their doors within the first five years. Of those that survive another eight in ten will fail in the second five years. There are thousands of books, tapes, seminars and […]
Meetings have become the bane of business. How many of you have gone to a meeting and left asking yourself: “What was the point of that? Why was I invited? Will any actions take place as a result of this meeting?” Sometimes just getting people to meetings is a trick in itself. One company I […]
In what people are calling a tumultuous year of change it seems appropriate to re-examine how we succeed and how we fail at change. Harvard business professor and author John Kotter states business leaders are more successful if they connect change to a positive emotion, and more likely to fail if they associate it only with negative feelings, […]
“Gen X and Gen Y employees don’t have a solid work ethic.” “Baby boomers are slow to change.” “The younger generation is one of entitlement.” “The older generation values money over a quality work environment.” You’ve heard these comments. You may have even made them. Whether they are true or not, baby boomers and younger […]
The setting couldn’t have been better: The training room windows inside the lodge pole resort looked out onto a thick forest. At the other end of the room, cushy leather chairs faced a fireplace. The food was gourmet-organic; and during breaks, we could take walks on the beach. The environment was harmonious. Perfect! For […]
She was not unlike many others. In fact, her challenges were the most common I have seen in more than 18 years. Debbie was an accomplished worker. She was smart and motivated and after five years in her position, she got the nod to head the department. “I loved the recognition. It was what I […]
Now more than ever, it’s the time to decide if you are a leader or a follower. A client of mine wasn’t able to get a futurist to speak at an upcoming team building meeting. Instead, I spend hours watching TED talks and YouTube videos of experts in their fields make predictions about the future […]
Many organizations will discover too late that survival mode is no longer adequate. A shift has occurred, requiring leaders to exercise more than situational awareness used to identify immediate short-term financial trends. Leaders in the New Normal 2.0 must open their eyes to emerging, even sometimes barely detectable, long-term shifts in the societal and global […]