These are difficult times to be positive about almost anything, and certainly the nature of work is no exception. The lingering challenges of the pandemic on both the family and one’s professional life, many corporate disruptions across industries, economic instability affecting all of us, and the evolving “world of work” which has certainly become more...

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Leadership Skills and Golf Did you know there are leadership skills you can learn from golf? It’s true – spending more time on the course can help your career! Want a valid excuse to spend more time on the golf course and less in front of the TV or at the office? The leadership skills...

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About the Podcast My guest today is Kevin Robinson, Managing Director of OPEX Performance Solutions Ltd and Toyota Alumni; having spent over 28 years at Toyota UK at the Deeside Engine Plant; starting as an Engineer in 1991 and working his way up the ranks until retiring as the General Manager of Manufacturing Operations. Rather...

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In this episode, JP starts by sharing his lack of “readiness” for his latest trip to the States when he was called to a project in Florida. You see, he had packed for February and March in Upstate New York (where winter attire is the call of the day) and not Florida (where its darn...

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Defining the example first, then leading by example As we go through life, we end up collecting a bunch of “truths” or mantras that subconsciously form the way we see the world.  This starts in the home we grow up in, where we are subjected to certain rules and norms.  “Money doesn’t grow on trees”,...

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How do the world’s best leaders and visionaries earn trust? They don’t just present data — they also tell great stories. Leadership consultant Karen Eber demystifies what makes for effective storytelling and explains how anyone can harness it to create empathy and inspire action. Click to listen to Ted Talk…

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Antlerboy starts off the show with a confession; that he has been seeing other people – in fact quite a selection of other people.  Behind JP’s back but in broad daylight, he has been recording two other podcasts; “Joy and Work” for leading (public) service transformation, and “Transduction” for the systems, complexity, and cybernetics.  He...

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For students in school, it’s graduation time.  Many young students are graduating from one grade to the next and still others are graduating from their high school and taking the next big step on their life’s journey into adulthood.  Of these, some will go directly into the job market; some will join the armed services;...

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As we get older, it’s interesting what we recall from our youth and the impact it had upon us – even if we didn’t know it at the time. For me, I was blessed with having several teachers who supported me and influenced me a great deal; those that left a positive and indelible mark...

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As a “corporate suit” (his words) and former VP of sustainability at McDonald’s, Bob Langert works with companies and their strongest critics to find solutions that are good for both business and society. In this actionable talk, he shares stories from the decades-long transition into corporate sustainability at McDonald’s — including his work with unlikely...

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The host of this TED video is Heidi Grant, who researches, writes and speaks about the science of motivation, influence and decision-making. In this instance, this social psychologist means that asking for help is tough. But to get through life – she says – you have to do it all the time. So how does...

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I would find it hard to believe that any successful person achieved that success without having at least one mentor along their journey – someone who was instrumental and influential in the life journey of the person being mentored (the mentee).  But what is mentorship? Mentorship is a semi-formal relationship between someone who has wisdom...

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In my article, “Build Organizational Capacity and Capability – For Free”, I listed several root-causes for training and education programs reaching a “stall speed” and a detailed approach for avoiding it.  Among the root-causes listed were; time, expense, work/learning balance, scalability, retention rate, and atrophy. But there is considerable risk to the program even prior...

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McKinsey and Company poses that small, independent teams are the lifeblood of the agile organization and that top executives can unleash them by driving ambition, removing red tape, and helping managers adjust to the new norms. But on a deeper level, what exactly does it take to set loose the independent teams that make agile organizations...

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This article means that mentoring programs are aimed at assisting participants with career management but questions just how can a mentor help. It also gives some helpful activities to assist with career development conversations, because it further means that career management involves assessing the current situation and making informed decisions about the future… Read more

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HBR examines and reveals the root problems of strategy execution, largely identified as having to do with “people” – and not the strategy itself. This article means that however hard it is to devise a smart strategy, it’s ten times harder to get people to execute on that strategy. In other words, your organization’s biggest strategy...

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Harvard Business Review takes a look at the benefits of bringing in outside experts to contribute technical expertise that an organization does not already have to a critical project or initiative. These independent, temporary workers are also referred to as “agile talent”. HBR means that since organizations depend increasingly on this subset of freelancers, the benefits of such agile...

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Nobody likes to fail. Failing causes us embarrassment. Failing bruises our ego. Failing might be a dark spot on our performance assessments. All we have to do is reflect on our childhood for when we failed and how poorly we felt. Even if our parents did give us encouragement, we still felt bad about failing....

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The 4th of July means more than great Carolina BBQ, fireworks, and spending time with friends and family. For me the 4th is a celebration of American leadership. No matter your political beliefs it’s hard to dispute that the United States is a leader in the world. As Ronald Reagan said, we cannot escape our...

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I wrote the first version of this article four years ago and have been updating it every year since.  I have had a great many people remark to me that it has helped them a great deal (which is the point, I guess.)  I have also had several people give me some new ideas and, of course,...

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I wrote the first version of this article three years ago and have been updating it every year since.  I have had a great many people remark to me that it has helped them a great deal (which is the point, I guess.)  I have also had several people give me some new ideas and, of course,...

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I have owned my own business since 1985, so I have been a leader far longer than I have been led.  In fact, I have owned my own businesses for so long (thirty-years this year) that I have often been referred to as “uniquely unemployable”.  I am not certain I would agree though, because I...

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I wrote the first version of this article two years ago and offered an updated version last year.  I have had a great many people remark to me that it has helped them a great deal (which is the point, I guess.)  I have also had several people give me some new ideas and, of course, I have had...

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Those of you who read my articles and follow my missives on social media know that I more often write of the “soft-side” – the “human endeavor” – of Operational Excellence, rather than the forensic details of the tools (including those of Lean Six-Sigma and the like).  I do this mostly because I feel that...

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There are obvious reasons for watching the TV series “Breaking Bad”. At last, the Hollywood hype surrounding the television series is justified, and no one dares to argue that. But there is also a less obvious and more important reason for our purposes. The Economist means that is one of the best studies available of...

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I wrote the first version of this article almost a year ago and, since then, I have had several people remark to me that it has helped them a great deal (which is the point, I guess.)  I have also had several people give me some new ideas and, of course, I have had time...

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“On Singling Out Followers”, by XONITEK’s Joseph Paris, reflects on Willi Schneider’s article, published in an earlier edition of LMJ, and expresses his view on followership.  Plus, continued media coverage of the Operational Excellence Society.  Published in Lean Management Journal in the June 2013 issue. Download PDF    

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“Servants to the Cause” by XONITEK’s Joseph Paris & continued media coverage of the Operational Excellence Society.  Published in Lean Management Journal in the September 2012 issue. Download PDF

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One of the most favourite things I get to do is being involved in academia; especially being able to mentor students as they embark upon their careers.  It is one of the very best ways of which I can think to “give back”, or even “pay it forward”.  And it is usually this time of year –...

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“Zachęta do doskonalenia”, published in the December 2011 issue of Eurologistics Magazine – in Polish. Download PDF “In pursuit of Operational Excellence” – Original invitation to the event in English. Download PDF

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