Are you frustrated and overwhelmed by a flood of e-mails, meetings, and endless administrative tasks? Does it feel like the harder you work, the less you accomplish? In their article, “Make Time for the Work that Matters,” in the September issue of Harvard Business Review, London Business School professor Julian Birkinshaw and productivity consultant Jordan […]
Read post »Work overload, 24/7 availability, stretched work weeks, and overflowing in-boxes are overwhelming most professionals and managers. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can be the less stressed out exception. You can Lead, rather than Follow or Wallow. Linda Duxbury, a professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University was recently […]
Read post »During our April trip to The Netherlands, I was fascinated by the extensive water management skills the Dutch developed over decades of draining and reclaiming land. After learning that 25% of the country is below and 50% is at sea level it’s very clear why this region of Europe is known as “the lowlands.” Polders […]
Read post »My last blog post looked at using the Holiday Season as a reminder of the importance of reviewing, assessing, celebrating, and refocusing – both at home and at work. Besides energizing us, it’s critical to our ongoing learning and development. In offsite retreats and workshops, management teams agree on how critically important it is for […]
Read post »The pace is frenzied – even desperate – in most organizations today. Restructuring, revamping IT systems, and reengineering processes are just a few of the major initiatives driving big changes across organizations. At departmental levels projects, goals and objectives, and operational bottlenecks expand exponentially. Add with today’s 24/7, always on and always connected technology, all […]
Read post »I am glad to see that last month’s newsletter (The Leader Letter) theme of spring clean up, To-Stop lists, busyness, and The Acceleration Trap touched a nerve with many readers. It’s a complex, multi-layered, and very serious problem at personal, team, and organizational levels. Following are some thoughtful reflections and observations on the topic: “I […]
Read post »There’s an epidemic of frantic busyness, multi-tasking, project overload, way too many goals, and tyranny of the urgent. An old folk saying reminds us “the hurrier I go the behinder I get.” A theme running through many recent blog postings has been the critical need to be more focused, disciplined, and strategic with our personal, […]
Read post »As I was preparing to facilitate a senior management team retreat and planning session I came across an excellent Harvard Business Review article on the huge problem of frantic busyness and priority overload. This was especially timely since the executive team was debating how they’ll deal with a long list of urgent projects, goals, and […]
Read post »Last weekend was perfect weather to clean up our perennial garden. After a few days of much needed heavy rains, the sun was shining again. The garden was springing back to life with plenty of green shoots (sadly, the deer and rabbits did chew off a few) and vigorous growth. So it was time to […]
Read post »Ensure you’re following the three keys to effective goals and priorities: 1) Follow-up; 2) Follow-up; and 3) Follow-up. Continuously communicate how your strategic imperatives connect to your vision, values, and purpose. Set goals and priorities from the outside (customers) in and help everyone see the big picture and where they fit in it. Keep the […]
Read post »High-performing organizations like Toyota have developed and evolved a very disciplined methodology that they call “Hoshin kanri.” It starts with high level or strategic imperatives and then cascades these through every part of the organization. Follow-through and follow-up is the key to moving this process from just another bolt-on planning program to a built-in management […]
Read post »Recently an Improvement Points subscriber sent me this e-mail after “A colleague recently forwarded one of your ‘Improvement Points’ newsletters to me (Stop Working and Start Living) and it was right on the money for what I needed to hear that day. Today I am an employee that has been recently moved to a leadership […]
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