I have found that Leaders are Learners. The greatest leaders were fanatic learners. Abraham Lincoln was—we all know how far he would go just to get a book. John F. Kennedy was, I’ve read that he in fact was a speed reader, consuming books like they were food. I’ve read that Phil Knight, Bill Gates, … More Learning for Leadership
Probably one of the most misleading things in organizational life is the concept of best practices. The idea that we can copy or duplicate the practices of a particular business or organization and we will get the same results. Copy the success of Company A, and Company B will experience the same success. This has … More The myth of best practices
Over 40 years of working at both large organizations and small ones; profit and non-profit; I have been fascinated with the degree of contentment people have with their employer. (by employer I mean the overall organization not your specific supervisor) I have seen and experienced the full spectrum: from absolute disgust to total endearment. I … More Loving where you work
Many years ago, I was working for a company in the office furniture industry. Every year we had a convention in which dealers, designers, architects, and end users would walk through our showrooms. After the show was over one night about twelve of us went out to dinner to Alan Hale’s Lobster Barrel on La … More How Remembering People’s Names Delivers Great Hospitality
I rented a car awhile back that was fully equipped with the current trend in warning signals. It would warn you when you were backing out of a parking space and got too close to the curb, or another car. It would also warn you as you were driving and a car in the other … More Blind Spot Warning Signal
To compromise is to be flexible. In the business world it could mean to collaborate with others for the purpose of gaining insights. It could involve a sense of ‘give and take,’ in which not all of your ideas are used but you take some of yours and some of the ideas of others to … More Compromise or Compromising?
Last week I talked about being unique and different in a world of sameness and to find ways to stand out. This week I want to talk about being your own version of a micro-brewery. In a world of mass manufacturing of everything from Baby-Food to Beer, micro-breweries have emerged as a highly desired differentiator … More Be Like a Craft Beer
We are so absorbed and addicted to numbers we can’t get away from it. It seems all our goals and targets are numbers related. Every year we review the past and aim at the next year goals. We want to increase sales, traffic counts, guest loyalty, and decreases expenses, inventory, and other related costs. We … More Success first, numbers second
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