Administrators derive status from their organization and tend to identify themselves with it so that criticism of the organization is felt by them to be criticism of the administrator himself. Productive people owe whatever distinction they may have to their own competence and are usually more open-minded about improving their performance.” – H. G. Rickover, […]
Seeking productive people Read More »
Did you know John Kotter’s new book, Buy-in, is out in hardcover? As a Guiding Coalition practitioner, you can’t be surprised that I rushed to purchase the book. Here’s an excerpt from the review: You’ve got a good idea. You know it could make a crucial difference for you, your organization, your community. You present
Tomorrow we wrap up an 18-month run of a 36 member Guiding Coalition. I’m in a state of contented bliss. In my work, I watch people drive successful change and I watch them learn how to drive change anywhere in their lives. It has been an honor to work with all of them, watch them
Ending and Beginning Again Read More »
Think back to the last few times you’ve found out about a problem at work. Which of these statements did you hear: Option 1: We’ve assigned a team to fix the problem Option 2: We’ve found volunteers who’ve formed a team to fix the problem Option 3: We’ve assigned a person to fix the problem
Samuel Johnson said, Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind.” There a studies that say you should do puzzles to keep your mind sharp, while other studies say wine is the answer. Puzzles and wine might help, but I happen to believe that Dr. Johnson was on to something
I find myself in need of a new post category: Rant. I’m borrowing from Dennis Miller when I say, “I don’t want to get off on a rant here, but…” …today I find myself deeply frustrated observing sloppy user of what I consider a precision instrument, the Think Reliability cause map. I think it’s the
A Rant – Sloppy Use of Precision Instruments Read More »
If you put fences around people, you get sheep. Give people the room they need.” – James Collins and Jerry Porras, citing a 3M phrase My thanks to Kenneth Thomas for citing this quote in his book, Intrinsic Motivation at Work: What Really Drives Employee Engagement. Too often in our fervor to make our expectations
Back in March, after spending a week confined with my son to his hospital room, I wrote in my journal/blog idea notebook, I’ve now learned that prolonged stress, confined conditions and sleep deprivation shut down my interest in transmitting knowledge. I only have the energy to receive information. I cannot will myself to create anything.” Today
Years ago when I dined at a Capitol Hill eatery under the watchful eyes of the Democrat photos lining the walls, I learned the hard way to, when it matters, always ask twice. As I started my lovely dining experience I looked at the bread and wondered, “Is this bread topping a mixed grain blend
I’m waiting in a pediatric ICU room for the hospital staff to bring back my son from his emergency MRI. I can’t do anything to speed up when he returns. All I can do is wait. There are some things in life you must wait for whether you like it or not. Yet all around
