My friend and sometimes workshop partner Jack, loves to talk about the importance of assessing an employee’s capabilities and capacity. Regarding the importance of these concepts, I could not agree more. Yet over the years, I have rarely heard them… Read More ›
One aspect of being a manager that lures many to the profession is the idea of having some real authority, of being in control of something and of having the power to give orders and directions that make things happen…. Read More ›
Recently during a business trip to Denver, I was having a drink and dinner at the bar of Ted”s Montana Grill in Aurora, Colorado. Being alone, my attention focused on the three individuals working the bar that evening. Ted’s was busy…. Read More ›
I have never encountered an organization that at least rhetorically did not champion the importance of training for all its employees. But I have encountered quite a few organizations whose management actions and cultural attitudes sent some confusing and contradictory… Read More ›
Abraham Maslow, famous for his theory of the “Hierarchy of Human Needs”, also had this to say about problem solving: “If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail”. I have known no managers… Read More ›
One of the great gifts any experienced manager has at his or her disposal, is the lessons of their experience. Years of hard work, countless hours of practice and application, the painful lessons of things gone wrong and the development… Read More ›
In most of my management workshops the discussion, at some point, generally comes around to one of those workplace problems that few managers wish to confront. For example: A personal hygiene issue. The frequent use of inappropriate language around co-workers…. Read More ›
I was recently talking with an employee who told me that their boss was fond of reminding them that their work efforts were costing the boss money. This phrase was really irritating them. Was their irritation appropriate? Absolutely in my… Read More ›
In an interview conducted by the “Academy of Achievement” (p.4) the late author Nora Ephron recounted her oft told story of her first day in Mr. Charles Simms’ Journalism class at Beverly Hills High School. Mr. Simms, she says, began the class… Read More ›
Imagine being called into your boss’s office and hearing one of the following statements: “I have some negative feedback for you and everybody feels the same way”; or “a number of your colleagues have told me that ……….”; or “I… Read More ›
Insights on Managing and Leading 