Tag: Employee engagement
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Innovation as a Manager’s Mindset: Seven Types for Better Decisions Every Day
When leaders hear “innovation,” they often picture a product lab, an AI pilot, or a major transformation program. But in reality, innovation is not something you “do” once and check off a list. It’s an attitude — a way of looking at problems, opportunities, and day‑to‑day decisions that determines whether your organization moves forward… or quietly falls…
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The Cost of Complacency
Across industries, the era of incremental change is over. Survival now depends on reinvention at scale. More than half of the companies that anchored the S&P 500 in 2010 no longer appear on the index. Household names like Sears, GE, and Kodak—once symbols of dominance—are now case studies in the cost of complacency. Let that sink…
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It’s all about the Outcome
“The ultimate destination should be achievement of business outcomes” Where do you want to go? “One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. ‘Which road do I take?’ she asked. ‘Where do you want to go?’ was his response. ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’…
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Beware of Greeks bearing gifts, especially when it’s wrapped in a big compensation package
A friend of mine just got off the phone with the head of HR from a national company. The HR executive noted that his company’s growth prospects were being limited by the lack of executive talent due to a depleted bench. He felt that “outside” talent was needed to expand their footprint and to bring in…
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Forcing Honesty in the Workplace
One of the most difficult managerial tasks is providing honest feedback to employees, especially for new managers. Providing objective feedback, delivering the feedback in an appropriate manner, and being able to handle the employee’s reaction takes hours of preparation and can be anxiety producing. This is so difficult that many managers avoid providing honest feedback…
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The Ultimate Driver of Performance
You can have the best ideas on the planet. You can be Einstein and Steve Jobs rolled up into one. But if you can’t unleash the full potential of your people, you’re going to watch less ingenious competitors zoom past you and eat your lunch. Knowing what to do is just the start In my…
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Creating a Powerful, Entrepreneurial On-Site Sales Force
Nothing happens in any business until a sale is made. There is no order to fulfill, no customer to serve, no money to count. So who do you entrust with this all important job? . . . Everyone. Sounds like a great concept, but when you have a full time, professional sales force that is…
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6 Steps to Cultivating Entrepreneurship in your Organization
No doubt about it. Empowerment is a great way to motivate people and unleash their energy and talents. But here’s how to reach an even higher level of performance: Create an entrepreneurial culture. Think about it. On the one hand, you have a highly motivated employee. On the other hand, an entrepreneur who owns the…
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Unleashing the Entrepreneur in Every Employee
Unleashing the Entrepreneur in Every Employee In many industrial work settings, employees are simply viewed as cogs in a machine, I.e. cost of goods sold. It’s a longstanding tradition that dates back to Frederick Taylor and Henry Ford. But that perception sells people short. And it does a disservice to employers and employees alike. Empowering…
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Effective Communications: The Catalyst for Everything You Want to Accomplish
Innovation engineering…empowerment…entrepreneurialism…employee engagement… These are big themes. Powerful ingredients. And when they come together, they can help you accomplish great things. But it won’t happen without great leadership and a high-powered, multi-faceted, never-ending communication campaign. Nitin Nohria, Dean of the Harvard Business School, once said that “communication is the real work of leadership.” I’d like to…