Are You Winning?

Are you winning? Simple metrics to keep your team on track … and smiling.

Lean – Have it Your Way

It’s easy to determine whether the leadership of a company truly embraces lean thinking.  One of the more frustrating “tells” is the insistence of leadership to precisely follow the path others have taken. The underlying notion of achieving the same or similar results may be appealing but it does not address why the specific path or methodology was chosen by […]

Lean Is NOT A Legacy

Lean can be summarily defined as “The pursuit of perfection (value) through the relentless elimination of waste.”  Understanding what this actually looks like in the real world is an entirely different matter. The 8 wastes (technically 7) and the tools to continually strive to eliminate them are well documented.  Why is it then that companies still find themselves struggling to […]

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary It’s hard to believe that today marks our 7th anniversary.  I still remember writing that first post and wondering who would be interested in what we had to offer. After more than 293,000 views, thousands of free downloads, and visitors from more than 120 countries, we can say that we’ve successfully helped more than a few people and companies […]

The Pulse of Leadership

In theory, Employee Opinion Surveys provide a pulse of the workforce and the workplace in general.  In practice, they measure the performance of executive leadership and the management team.  They serve as a tool to understand what is working and to identify opportunities for improvement. Unfortunately, collecting and compiling survey data is very time-consuming and only represents a snapshot in time.  While […]

Desk Jockey “Leaders”

Behind The Desk For some people, being bound to a desk is an inherent and perhaps unfortunate part of the work they do. But, the last place I would expect to find a lean leader is sitting behind their desk. I recognize the need for an office and understand that managing a business does require some desk time. However, it’s amazing how […]

It’s Time to Celebrate! Happy Thanksgiving Canada

It’s Thanksgiving Monday here in Canada and I want to thank you – our valued subscribers, contributors, and visitors – for your continued support.  This is also a day where we turn to family and friends to celebrate and share the many things that we are thankful for. I am also reminded that we need to be thankful for the […]

Leadership – Get Thirsty …

We are likely to find as many definitions for leadership as there are leaders. I recently downloaded an excellent app titled “Leadership Development” from Apple’s App Store and this definition of leadership was presented in one of the many videos: “Leadership is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the […]

Leadership is NOT an Event

We’ve all been to the employee “town hall” meetings where a senior executive attempts to motivate the team and clarify the vision just one more time. A captive audience, donuts, and free coffee are all it takes to reignite the passion and synergy that once was – or so they like to think. Leadership is not an event, it’s a […]