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Meet the psychological needs of your people—all your people

Too many employers pay too little heed to the needs of the lower earners in their company. Here’s why—and how—they should shift gears. The late Brazilian car-racing champion Ayrton Senna once said, “You cannot overtake 15 cars in sunny weather, but you can when it’s raining.” Well, there’s been no shortage of downpours in recent years….

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The 4 Keys to Achieving Excellence

Like many of you, I’ve had a lifelong quest for learning and for trying to improve my own personal performance and drive excellence in my companies. Excellence is defined as “the quality of being outstanding or extremely good.” Synonyms for excellent and excellence are distinction, first rate, superb, blue chip, choice, first class, five-star, top…

Want to Achieve Real Improvement? Stop Blaming the People!

Want to Achieve Real Improvement? Stop Blaming the People!

Fixing broken processes is the better choice for increased productivity and a more engaged workforce. “A bad system will beat a good person every time.” Dr. W. Edwards Deming One of my favorite quotes from Dr. Deming is, “A bad system will beat a good person every time.” This is one of the many lessons…

Harvard Business Review

As the World Shifts, So Should Leaders

Research shows that different eras call for different approaches. Summary: Two decades ago, extensive research led Nohria, the former dean of Harvard Business School, to conclude that the hallmark of great leadership is the ability to adapt to the times. Today, he says, we’re in a period of significant change, thanks to global events, governmental…

Don’t Be Arrogant; You Need Your Customers More Than They Need You.

Don’t Be Arrogant; You Need Your Customers More Than They Need You.

Like many consultants, I travel quite a bit and spend a fair bit of time at airports as a result.  And since I live in Germany and my clients are (mostly) in Europe and in the States, my most popular route (once a month on average) is flying United Airlines between Frankfurt (FRA) and Newark…

Harvard Business Review

How to Move from Strategy to Execution

Summary. Three out of every five companies rate their organization as weak on strategy execution. When you dig into the potential barriers to implementation, there is a general lack of understanding of the various factors at play, resulting in the inevitable managerial justifications — “poor leadership,” “inadequate talent,” “lack of process excellence,” etc. This article…