Management Theory: Two trips to IKEA
About three weeks apart, I took two different trips to IKEA. The contrast in those trips taught me a ton about management theory. Continue Reading
Deliverables
Business process buried results
Hmmm… business process. That’s a multi-layered topic, no? Let me do my best here. I think the first place you need to begin is with the idea that for most senior executives — or quote unquote decision-makers — within an… Continue Reading
How to get organized at work
I’ve probably worked with 1,500 different people in various jobs I’ve had. I could count maybe 4 that ever spent a second thinking about how to get organized at work. The common way most people approach the concept of ‘how… Continue Reading
How to be strategic about responding to work e-mails
E-mail, at least to me, is a total boondoggle. Responding to work e-mails is an even bigger boondoggle. Let’s start with a couple of basics: There are no established ‘norms’ on how to handle e-mail E-mail represents work, but it’s often not actually… Continue Reading
A hidden key to 2016 strategy planning
Hopefully you’ve already done some 2016 strategy planning for whatever size business you work at or run — because, you know, we’re halfway through Month II of the year at this point — but even if you have, you can… Continue Reading
How do you align strategy and execution?
I’ve had a bunch of different jobs, and I’ll be honest: by this point, about 13 years into working, I oftentimes have no idea what strategy even is. I know that senior leaders of companies typically have a couple of big meetings… Continue Reading
No workplace can be ‘creative’ under current management models
Managers love to talk about having creative teams, or creative people, or creative ideas — but most of that is a crock. Just like we confuse “strategy” (which is a long-term vision) with “operations” (which is the day-to-day execution of… Continue Reading
On ‘management by due date’
There are differing types of less-than-stellar management, including: The Merry-Go-Round The No-ROI Deliverables Model The ‘Set A Fire, Resolve A Fire, Brag About Fixing It’ Model The ‘I’ll Tell You Exactly How This Needs To Be Done’ Model The ‘Let’s… Continue Reading