Consistently, “being in the know” ranks near the top of employee satisfaction surveys. People want to know what’s going on around here. They want to know what their part is. They want to know how events, both good and bad, are impacting the company. And why shouldn’t they? After all, it’s their company and their
“No organization can make good decisions without conflict.”
“No organization can make good decisions without conflict.” “If everyone is thinking alike, someone’s not thinking.” We tend to veer away from conflict. It can make us feel uncomfortable, or even downright shaken. It can inspire anger, anxiety, hurt feelings, and a lot of other negative outcomes. So we avoid it. We try to play
“A good leader inspires other people with confidence in the leader. A great leader inspires them with confidence in themselves.”
Over the years, I’ve been on a lot of “plant tours.” Usually, our guide is the owner or CEO or plant manager, and the focus is usually on the systems and equipment being used in each step of the manufacturing process. But awhile ago, I was on a tour that was fundamentally different in
“Success is not determined by the flawless execution of a plan. It is determined by how people react to failure.”
“I haven’t failed. I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” “The way to succeed is to double your failure rate.” “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” Lots of thoughts about failure, but it’s an important aspect of business life. It’s the consequence we must consider anytime we try
“The purpose of your organization is to meet customer needs. That’s the game. Profits are the score.”
That’s obvious, isn’t it? Well, it should be, but we often behave as though our customers must meet our needs. Think about it. Do you impose deadlines on your customers to make life easier for you? Are your pricing schemes aimed at getting customers to buy the way you want them to buy rather than
“If your business keeps you so busy that you have no time for anything else, there must be something wrong, either with you or with your business.”
Do you have time to do things you want to do outside of your business? Or, said another way, do you feel you have good “balance” in your life? Obviously, there are times when business activity is high and things can get a little hectic, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. Over
“Compensation is an equity issue. People want to know that they are being compensated fairly compared to others doing similar work within the company, and to others doing similar work in other companies. After that, it’s a non-issue.”
It really is that simple, yet we continually find ways to complicate the situation. For example, let’s say we’ve got two employees, Bob and John. Bob has been with the company for 20 years, John for only 18 months. They both do the same work and do it equally well. In many cases, Bob would
“A company’s culture is defined by what it tolerates.”
All companies have a culture. In some cases, the culture is one that has been carefully constructed and nurtured, in others, the culture has evolved haphazardly over time, but either way, a culture is present, and it is defined by what it tolerates. Think of IBM in the early days. They wanted a culture of
“Let people accomplish your objectives their way.”
Where systems or processes are concerned, it really is essential that everybody use them uniformly. Imagine an assembly line. Each station on the line must perform its function in a very precise way, each and every time, or stations further down the line won’t be able to do their work. But for the most part,
“Progress always involves risk, but you can’t steal second base and keep a foot on first.”
“Change with the world – or it will change without you.” There is always risk with change, and in general, the greater the change, the greater the risk. But you know what? There’s also risk in not changing . . . arguably even greater risk. Changes in the business world are coming at us faster
