newsletter archive.
(Previously published under the title Extreme Profits
under ISSN 1925-8941)
The fallacy of efficiency, how real leaders lead
In a corporate world where efficiency is the father of productivity, there is a startling counter-effect: The most efficient die early. Perhaps what is even more surprising is that organizations hell-bent on making all of their practices efficient do so at the expense of common sense.
It was Peter Drucker that said: "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency that which should not be done at all."
Powerhouses of motivation, no place for dead ideas
The best tool for motivating teams to complete projects is the project charter. In fact, when all else fails, this simple tool helps teams get over project plateaus.
At its heart, the project charter is an essential ingredient in the "define" phase of any Lean project. It sets the stage for how the project and its outcomes will be measured, analyzed, improved and controlled.
Flippant about stress, making stress work for you
Being stressed has become a cliche. No one seems to be taking it seriously anymore. It has become symbiotic with life.
In "It's not sex. It's not drinking. It's stress and it's soaring," research shows that six in ten workers in major global economies are experiencing increased workplace stress and 80% of workers feel stress on the job. Nearly half say they need help in learning how to manage stress and 42% say their co-workers need such help. While these stats may shock us, what we're not seeing is the effect of stress beyond these numbers.