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In the topic 'Organization Improvement'


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Generating Keen Energy That Electrifies a Powerful Culture

Managers often hire consultants to help them solve major organizational problems. The consultant will interview key leaders and staff, run focus groups, and gather input from a variety of sources. Many ideas are sifted through, and the most relevant one presented to management along with the consultant’s recommended action plan. What’s too often a sad […]

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A Culture Compass Charting Your Pathway to Peak Performance

For most of my career, I’ve been a “monomaniac on a mission” about integrating change and development efforts within a systemic culture development process. Way too much money and time has been wasted with isolated programs that don’t provide broader context, support, and follow-through. Decades of our experience and countless research studies show the power […]

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At the Crossroads: Piecemeal Programs or Culture Change?

Leaders wanting to focus their organization on boosting service/quality performance stand at a critical crossroad, choosing which road will take them to that higher ground. Their two main routes are piecemeal programs to “fix the frontline” or a long-term cultural change process. As they look down both roads, first appearances can be deceiving. The piecemeal […]

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Rethink the Link: Strengthening the Customer Service Chain

How reasonable is it to hold a shipping dock worker responsible for the quality of the products in the boxes he or she is shipping? How reasonable is it for managers to hold the final deliverer responsible for the quality of the products or services he or she is delivering? The person on the front […]

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The Times and the Paradigms are a-Changin’

It’s been 60 years since Bob Dylan wrote his iconic song, The Times They Are a-Changin’, heralding the massive societal shifts about to rock the 1960s. We could apply these lines to today’s organizations: Your old road is rapidly agin’ Please get out of the new one If you can’t lend your hand For the […]

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The Rating Game: Markers of a Flawed Customer Culture

Heather and I recently returned from an extended vacation. We had an excellent dining room server every evening and great food. In our third last dinner, he told us about a customer satisfaction survey we’d be receiving when our vacation was over. He emphasized how important the ratings for his service were to his career […]

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Scream Time? Are You Managing, or Managed By, E-mail?

“I’m addicted to e-mail. My endorphins spike when I get a message. And when there are no messages, loneliness and despair overcome me.” Does that comic strip quip feel familiar? Many of us have a love/hate relationship with e-mail. It’s a great tool for staying in touch with many people. But it can easily take […]

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Why Many Planning Sessions Are a Waste of Time and How to Fix Them

I was asked to facilitate an annual strategic planning retreat with a senior leadership team. The CEO sent me their draft agenda for the session. Hmm…oh, oh…. Looking at the typical approach they’ve used before, four common strategic planning problems immediately popped out: The agenda was loaded with about 17 project/operational presentations/reviews and updates. Yikes! […]

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Are You Taking Care of Busyness and Working Overtime?

“How are you doing? Keeping busy?” “Oh, yeah! Busy, busy.” “Great!” How often have you been on both sides of that conversation? It’s become routine. Busyness is highly valued. It’s seen as a measure of our productivity — even our worth. A Science article reports on an experiment by Timothy Wilson, a social psychologist at […]

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Avoid a Speeding Frenzy: 14 Ways to Pace Yourself

One evening I was slowly eating dinner with Heather. She waited and waited for me to finish and finally asked me to hurry up. I told her I was mindfully savoring every bite of the delicious meal. She suggested I “savor faster.” “Fast savoring” is an apt oxymoron for our time. We have an epidemic […]

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Finding the Right Speed in an Ever-Faster World

Simple, succinct, and clear driving instructions. This is solid life advice as well. If day after day of stressful racing around doesn’t manage to actually kill us before our time, it will kill our health, happiness, and effectiveness. I once sat through a scarily high-energy presentation given by a professor specializing in knowledge management. He […]

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Ripple Effect: Seven Keys to Team and Culture Development

When our kids were young, I was often reminded of the adage, “children act like their parents — despite all attempts to teach them good manners.” When one of our kids did something I wasn’t especially pleased with, I found myself asking, “where did you learn that?” When I stood back, and I reflected on […]

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Dysfunctional Arguments, Healthy Debates, or Smothering Silence?

Doug, the division leader, was angry and frustrated. “I’d like to start by understanding why our current results are so badly below forecast,” Doug said, his moustache quivering slightly. “We’re not even close to hitting our numbers.” Crickets. Chuck studied his shoes. Everyone else became very interested in their notes, coffee mugs, or the water […]

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Leadership Team Dynamics: Culture Change Begins Here

  We did a series of focus groups, interviews, and surveys within a division of a large company to help Chris, the division manager, determine why their culture wasn’t performing at the level he wanted. We found that the shortfalls in the division’s levels of engagement, service, and productivity reflected the leadership team’s effectiveness. Their […]

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For Better or Worse: Meetings Are a Hologram of Organizational Culture

Five decades of research shows the huge impact of organizational culture on outcomes like Return on Investment, stock prices, service/quality levels, productivity, sales, profitability, cost-effectiveness, and similar results. Organizational culture is also a key factor in levels of employee engagement, extra effort, innovation, morale, and teamwork. “Magnet cultures” attract and retain the best people. Or […]

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We’ve GOT to Stop Meeting Like This

Shopify’s recent announcement about canceling, banning, and restricting meetings is the wrong solution to a huge problem. It’s throwing a deflated pool toy to someone who’s drowning. Meetings can energize or enervate. When meetings are effectively run, they create that elusive synergy to dramatically boost a team’s effectiveness. Research clearly shows that when run effectively, […]

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Energize or Enervate: Recognition Practices That Turn People Off or On

  Numerous studies show that a major reason many people quit their jobs is that they feel unappreciated. Brains follow hearts to where they’re valued. As I wrote in Do You Focus on the Field of Wheat or Stone on the Hill?, too often managers point out what’s wrong while failing to recognize what’s right. […]

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Expecting the Unexpected: Meet Unpredictability with Agility and Adaptability

Let’s start the year with a big scary dose of gloom and doom! That was the approach of a national media organization with their January 2nd leading headline story: “If you thought 2022 was bad, wait until you see what 2023 has in store for the economy.” It featured a photo of a despondent man […]

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Leaders Beware: Avoid These Recognition Hazards

Early in my career, I reported to Harold, a leader who proudly described his MBE approach – “management by exception.” “If you haven’t heard from me, that’s a good sign,” he explained. “That means I think you’re doing just fine. I only deal with the exceptions. I look for problems and people that need correcting. […]

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Do You Focus on the Field of Wheat or Stone on the Hill?

A favorite ritual this time of year is decorating our Christmas tree while the movie Christmas Vacation is playing in the background. I’ve watched it often enough to recite most of the dialogue. But after repeated viewings, it still lives up to its tagline – “Yule crack up!” Yes, I do realize how pathetic my […]

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