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Category Archives: Improve / Turnaround
Think Twice and Do Once
Every Do-It-Yourselfer knows the carpenter’s advice: Measure twice cut once. In successful businesses, a similar recommendation holds true: Think twice and do once. To so many of us, immediate action appears to be essential: We are just doing it! We … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Improve / Turnaround, Perform / Execution
Tagged Focus, Productivity, Project Management
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Communicate Upward
As managers, we need to encourage each of our employees to keep us informed about what is really going on in our companies, both the good and the bad. We need to be kept in the loop about the larger … Continue reading
Posted in Communication, Improve / Turnaround, Team / People
Tagged Communication, Honesty, Team, Turnaround, Upward communication
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Continuous Improvement and Lean
Driving continuous improvement throughout our organizations is fundamental to short and long-term business success. Continuous improvement requires daily improvement in everything that we (and our teams) do…even when we are too busy! Are we better today than we were yesterday? … Continue reading
8 Ways To Be As Smart As We Can Be
To do our best in business, we need to be as smart as we can be. Alas, I do not have any tremendous insight or magic elixir to make myself or anyone else be smarter. Sorry. What I do have … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Improve / Turnaround, Personal Success
Tagged Focus, Innovation, Management, Productivity, Success, Teaching
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The Five Whys of Follow-Up
When General Dwight D. Eisenhower was first elected President in 1952, then President Harry S. Truman remarked: He’ll sit here, and he’ll say, Do this! Do that! And nothing will happen. Poor Ike [nickname for Eisenhower]. It won’t be a … Continue reading
Posted in Improve / Turnaround, Perform / Execution, Team / People
Tagged Consistent Execution, Follow-up, Productivity
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10 Ways to Really (and Truly) Be Organized
With all the meetings, E-Mails, objectives and communications in a typical company, staying organized is a never-ending task. Yet, there are a few fundamentals to follow to ensure that you stay organized and focused on the most important tasks each … Continue reading
2 Second Lean: How to Make Your People and Your Business Better Every Day
I summarize some of the key concepts from the excellent book: 2 Second Lean: How to Grow People and Build a Fun Lean Culture. Written by Paul Akers, 2 Second Lean is a quick and easy ready that will help … Continue reading
5 Steps to Creating a Unique Strategic Vision
Today, companies struggle to consistently increase sales and profits faster than the overall market. In too many cases, these companies lack a unique strategic vision that would differentiate the company and its products and services from the competition. Instead, their … Continue reading
We Need to Create Time For Our Teams
Many of us aspire to personally be as productive and effective as possible. We read articles and blogs (including some of mine – How to Be 10X More Effective…) and take classes to learn how to get more done in … Continue reading
The Power of Active Follow Up
To make change happen effectively (for our companies and for ourselves) requires daily attention and regular follow up. People don’t get better without follow up. So let’s get better at following up with our people. The quote above is from … Continue reading
5 Daily Behaviors for 2017
The calendar says 2017. Unfortunately, far too many of our leaders are leading as if it is 5, 10, 20, even 30 years ago. Old-fashioned leadership and work styles and out dated, time consuming, and all but useless leadership behaviors … Continue reading
Make American Manufacturing Great Again
Manufacturing still remains a vital part of the American economy. Many factors make America a great place for manufacturing: a large and nearby market, common language, good culture of business ethics, low cost fuel, strong design and engineering talent, robust … Continue reading
Operations – The Five Daily Fundamentals
Most companies still provide a tangible product or service. This means that companies need to have operations employing people to produce the product, deliver the product, or provide the service. These operations are essential to great customer service and building … Continue reading
5 Ways Managers Can Make It Happen
In order to move our companies forward, we, as managers, need to get the right things done – the most important tasks that lead to success. This needs to happen in a workplace besieged by interruptions, distractions, and office chatter. … Continue reading
5 Steps to Improving Customer Service
Excellent customer service is a fundamental for success in our businesses. Unfortunately, it is all too often lacking. So, how can we improve customer service in our companies? Hire and Develop Employees that Actually Like People: Customer service starts and … Continue reading
We Must Impose Limits… On Ourselves
As business leaders, we are constantly being bombarded with distractions, new opportunities, and issues. Everything and everyone screams at us to do more. Yet, to achieve our goals, we must prioritize. By imposing limits on ourselves, we can better focus … Continue reading
Posted in Improve / Turnaround, Perform / Execution, Personal Success
Tagged Business Leadership, Business Transformation, Business Turnarounds, Consistent Execution, Do the Right Thing, Focus, Less is More, Make It Happen, Personal Productivity, Prioritization, Process Improvement, Simplicity, Tim Ferriss
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Ten Ways to Grow Sales Now
Despite the improving unemployment rate and positive economic indicators, many B2B companies are stuck in slow and no growth modes. How can these companies re-kindle growth and increase sales?
Foster Fresh Perspectives
As leaders, we can often get stuck in ruts, talking to the same people every day and thinking the same way as everyone else. To breakthrough and come up with new and innovative ideas and approaches to problems and issues, … Continue reading