Recommended Resource – Why Some Firms Thrive While Others Fail

Why Some Firms Thrive While Others Fail: Governance and Management Lessons from the Crisis by Thomas Stanton About the Book Why Some Firms Thrive While Others Fail by Thomas Stanton examines the fundamental shortcomings of both public and private financial sector companies as revealed during America’s ‘Great Recession.’ Thomas focuses on the areas of management, […]

Decision-Making Best Practice 19 – Identify the Decision Timeframe

Every decision involves risk, with time underlying all mitigating factors. Some decisions occur too late, resulting in the forfeiture of a situational opportunity, competitive advantage, or adverse outcome avoidance. Other decisions are made too quickly, unnecessarily increasing risk because of diminished data gathering and contemplation that better informs the choice.

Recommended Resource – The Reinventors

The Reinventors: How Extraordinary Companies Pursue Radical Continuous Change by Jason Jennings About the Book The Reinventors by Jason Jennings provides a step-by-step method for continuously evolving one’s organization such that it remains ever relevant in today’s rapidly changing business environment. Jason examines not only the change methodology to be employed but provides insights to […]

Evaluation and Control Program Best Practice 5 – Don’t Break the Mirror

Feedback mechanisms serve as a reflection of an organization, business unit, department, or individual’s performance. At times, these mirrors reveal exceptional performance; in other cases, good or satisfactory performance; and in some instances poor or unacceptable performance. Too often, the individual or group holding the mirror, whether a performance metric, an internal self-assessment, or a third party audit, is blamed for the performance indicated. Regardless of who provides the performance report, this person or group should not be attacked for identifying instances of success or failure.

A dozen books to own and read – at least once.

When Jim Rohn said, “All the information you need to succeed already exists, the problem is you haven’t exposed yourself to it,” it was one of the most challenging and eye-opening statements I had ever heard. I immediately made a lifelong goal to read a thousand books. I have not reached that goal yet, but […]

Decisions, decisions – how good at them are you?

Decisions – either by you, your coworker, your boss, your family members, or your customer – drive your success, your lifestyle, and your attitude. As you’re contemplating what to do, or how to decide, there are stream-of-conscious thoughts that affect the final choice and the resulting outcome. Whether you’re buying something, working on a project, […]

The Big Picture of Business: Putting Budgeting Into Perspective, The Bigger Picture of Strategic Planning

Frame of reference is everything in business. Different people within the same organization have contrasting views as to the Business They’re Really In. The term Budgeting gets tossed around in many ways. Budgets get blamed for gridlock. Budgets get politicized. Budgets get more attention than the umbrellas under which they rightfully belong: Strategic Planning and […]

Recommended Resource – The Pivot Point

The Pivot Point: Success in Organizational Change by Victoria M. Grady and James D. Grady About the Book The Pivot Point by Drs. Victoria and James Grady is a business novel presenting a unique perspective on effectively implementing organizational change based on group and individual psychodynamics. Within their book, Victoria and James examine decades of […]

Leadership Lessons from Zombies

Sometime in the past two years, perhaps while we were distracted by the vampire craze, zombies started presenting a more menacing presence. Scores of television programs, movies, and books have seemingly sprung from nowhere to teach us to survive a zombie attack. For example, Max Brooks, son of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft, has dominated […]

Ad Hoc Reports First, Automated Metrics Second

Change is difficult. Value illusive. Implementation of new organizational performance measures represents both change and sought after value, either of which can render the time and resources spent creating the new measures worthless. Consequently, it is incumbent upon those seeking to introduce the new measures to effectively test for acceptance and value contribution before committing the significant time and resources required for their development and implementation.