I Don't Want to Hear "Hopefully"
The foundation of accountability is commitment. When one is committed to accomplishing something, the hesitation and fear are replaced by resolve and energy. When one
The foundation of accountability is commitment. When one is committed to accomplishing something, the hesitation and fear are replaced by resolve and energy. When one
There are very, very few companies that have been great over a long time. It’s as if they were able to assemble an organization, a
Most strategies fail to achieve their objectives, not because the strategies are faulty, but because the implementation is weak. It’s like building a beautiful jet
When planning any sort of culture change, be aware that culture change often has an impact on customers and vendors. This is particularly true when
Over the years that I have worked with companies to improve performance, just about every cause of poor performance can be traced to one or
There isn’t a strategy. The strategy is distributed in 3-ring binders, everyone celebrates getting that done and thinks the strategy will implement itself. The strategy
Here’s what works: Divide your workforce into three groups based on their performance: The top 20%, the middle 70%, and the bottom 10%. On which
David Ogilve, the advertising guru, once noted that half the money spent on advertising is wasted; the problem being that no one knows which half.
As a leader or manager, one of your tasks is to continually increase the value of your workforce. Usually this means training and developing groups.
When analyzing a performance problem, I’ve found it often pays to look at the supervisor or manager and how they manage their people. Examples: Micromanaging
Someone (I think it was Woody Allen) said that the role of the leader is to demonstrate how to act to his/her people. It’s sound
Small growth companies face a tougher talent environment than medium and large companies. Here’s why: While they all share the challenge of finding workers with
Past performance data is great for identifying problems and trends, but sooner or later you have to shift your focus to next month, next quarter,
Your company has a culture. It’s the values and beliefs that cause certain behaviors. For example, if people are routinely late for meetings or if
If you want to build accountability within your organization, you have to identify the results to be achieved. It is necessary, but not sufficient, to
If you want to build a high-performance team at the top, you’ve got to have managers who are professionally close. The big mistake many companies
Managers become quite adept at problem solving which involves taking action to bring performance back up to where it once was. You know the drill:
Of the things high performers hate most, bureaucratic organizations are in second place (weak supervisors are first.) The key difference between bureaucracies and high-performance organizations
One of the hallmarks of my work is to help leaders take action. I spend very little time on the theory of leadership because my
Mark Twain once said that he never let his schooling interfere with his education. I’ve always liked that saying because it differentiates between specific learning
Executives, and most of all, Chief Executives, need to be concerned about the information they are NOT hearing. There are many reasons why the information
A strategic vision is, by far, the least appreciated element of strategy, yet it has the power to focus the strategy, energize innovation, and mobilize
I watched a Charlie Rose interview with Joni Ives last week. Ives is the now legendary head of design for Apple — the guy who
Successful organization change requires a number of factors. Perhaps the most important is sponsorship — the clear and continual reinforcement of the change message by
An executive I began coaching shared a concern that people did not participate in meetings. When I sat in to observe, the problem was readily
Bureaucracy can show up in even the most entrepreneurial company. It’s when people get so fixated on inputs and process that they don’t value outputs
Alvin Toffler wrote in the 1970s about how the world was going to experience change as never before. He was correct. Toffler he said that
The most important factor in developing highly-successful organizations is leadership. But leadership won’t be improved only by improving one person. You also need to improve
The ability to envision your company’s future is important to formulating business strategy. Yogi Berra said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end
I’m involved a quite a few strategic planning projects right now. They are all different, certainly in subject matter, but also in terms of how
I see four kinds of employees in every organization. Here’s how leaders need to manage them: High-performers who are excited about opportunities and getting results.
Here is a list of what my best clients do: Understand that your commitment to the strategy is on the line everyday. Lead strategy formulation
When I work with a client on organization structure, the question often comes up: “Should we design the job around the person we have, or
In my consulting and coaching, I usually see clear distinctions between upper and lower levels of management on a number of factors including how time
I’ve met, observed, and worked with hundreds of leaders — only a couple dozen or so who I’ve considered to be extraordinary. While they’ve differed
During the many years I’ve been working with companies, the characteristics of high-performing and ineffective organizations is stark. In high-performing companies, people talk about the
This newsletter is entitled “On the Same Page.” It can refer to many things including an orchestra whose members are following the score, or the
If you want to establish strong leadership power and influence, learn what it means to establish “referent” power. It is far more effective than power
To dramatically grow your business, you’ve got to execute. Even it you’ve got a great strategy, how it is executed makes all the difference. I’ve
Over my career I’ve worked with at least a thousand executives, including hundreds of CEOs and presidents. The best ones aren’t so concerned with making
Think about it…when people are in conflict they are stimulated, passionate, and energized. That’s what you want — not passive harmony and predictable routines. Instead
Just like productivity, quality and employee retention, Employee engagement is an end result, a byproduct, of doing a number of things right. Instead of acting
Lately, I’ve worked with a several leaders who admit that they micromanage and want to stop. The problem is that they don’t know how to
Of course increased revenue, profits, and market share are the real outcomes, but here are three ways you can tell if your organization is focused
Benchmarking is a tried-and-true approach for operational processes, but it should not be used to determine how best to structure or lead an organization. Yeah,
When people are micro-managed, they become self-conscious, intimidated, mistake avoiding, and fearful. They wait for orders, subdue their creativity, and rarely make suggestions. That’s not
I’ve seen managers and executives who seem to be obsessed with looking for what their people are doing wrong or mistakes they’ve made. And I’ve
Last week I wrote about key elements of restructuring. Here are a few more practical tips from my years of working with scores of organizations
Practical Tips for Successful Organization Restructuring If you’re doing an acquisition, merging, wanting to be more market or customer-focused, or restructuring to cut costs, the
There’s a lot of talk about innovation these days. Much of it is academic and lacks practical application. Here are three important tactics from my
Last week I attended M.I.T’s graduation to see my son receive his Ph.D. in Aeronautic and Astronautic Engineering. The guest speaker was Megan Smith, Chief
Strategy should be exciting, challenging, and stimulating. It should elicit the very best thinking of your key people, get the creative juices flowing, build enthusiasm,
Gone are the days of big binders with detailed projections, economic analyses, and all the other stuff that is old even before it is put
I am working with three companies on their cultures, and regularly find misconceptions about what it takes to change or strengthen corporate culture. Additionally, while
From my observations over 30 years of consulting, coaching, and executive work: The best leaders know that people respond to excellent managers, challenging and stimulating
90% of managers believe they are good or excellent communicators, while the people they’re leading put that number at about 20%. That is pretty much
My most successful clients are very good at aligning individual goals with strategic intent so that everybody is actively working to achieve the company’s strategy
My wife has a large garden which produces an abundance of vegetables we eat throughout the year — we still have garlic, beans, hot peppers,
I don’t know where this came from, but I hear way too many people talking about deliverables. Maybe it’s because a deliverable is better than
What obstacles are in your growth path? Most of my clients are pushing hard for growth right now. If that’s you too, I have one
Back in my college days I used to hitchhike the 300 miles to school. One day I hitched a ride with a couple. Enroute, the
There is a great story about Herb Kelleher at Southwest Airlines where “Fun” is one of the primary values. Apparently a customer didn’t like that
The next time you form a team, consider this: While both supervisor-led teams and self-managed teams can be just as productive, there is a one
When working with leaders to change people’s behaviors, I’ve found the most effective approach is to appeal to rational self-interest and use carrots rather than
We learn steadily, every day. And good companies do too. The best companies have hundreds or thousands of employees gaining more knowledge and working better
In response to one of my recent emails concerning commitment, several clients asked, “So what are the leadership steps to getting commitment?” Here’s one of
Long gone are the thick binders GE used decades ago to create detailed plans for the next five years. Even the approaches pioneered in the
One of the highest concerns of presidents I talk with these days is how to create an organization that is more proactive in sensing external
Getting consensus is good — but commitment is essential. I have seen leaders who spend all their time getting their team to reach consensus, but
It’s the fallacy that if someone understands the theory, or the practice, or simply what to do, that he or she will do it. We
I like to ask CEOs what their business strategy is. Sometimes I get a crisp, clear response, but often the answer either is a bunch
Instilling accountability is very important. It is the fast track to commitment, performance, and people development. Unfortunately, way too many leaders, managers, and supervisors see
An article in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal about a high-school cross-country coach in suburban Syracuse was fascinating. His teams have won nine national titles in
Leaders will sometimes tell me that people hate change. But it’s not true. Nearly all of my work involves some amount of organization change. Sometimes
Many leaders today still subscribe to the idea that everyone reporting to them must conform to the leader’s thoughts and opinions–both before decisions are made,
This is Thanksgiving week in the United States. It’s a time to give thanks to your coworkers, your employees, your customers, and vendors. And especially
In the news last week were Robert Gates, Leon Panetta, and other former members of the Obama cabinet decrying the micromanagement that has characterized the
Excellent companies–those who excel for the long-term–are good at both the analytics of costs and efficiencies, and in improving their organization’s ability to learn, innovate,
Growing a business is not easy. The challenge is particularly acute for entrepreneurs who successfully launch a business, but soon find that the leadership style
Over the weekend I witnessed an enormous flock of starlings in an undulating swarm constantly changing direction and formation but always maintaining their speed and
Most attempts at organization change fail. Even if the change is eventually successful, the cost is often far higher than necessary. Those costs include complaints
General Motors continues to have problems–the kinds of problems going through a bankruptcy instead of being bailed-out might well have corrected. GM’s stock has fallen
Today’s business world requires innovation and change and companies that aren’t good at these can quickly run into difficulty. But often overlooked is the role
An important factor in implementing your strategy is getting your board involved. Yet many of the boards I work with spend way too much time
For years I’ve helped companies improve innovation in a number of ways, and I continue to find that innovation itself is widely misunderstood. Innovation is
In my work with hundreds of leaders and managers, it’s become clear that a company’s overall leadership won’t become better by improving a single leader.
Imagine you’re in the passing lane of highway. There are several cars in a line just ahead of you so you cannot go any faster,
I attended my high school reunion over the weekend and it reminded me that the most powerful communication between people is a shared experience. It
In the 1991 Gulf War, the U.S. military attempted to “synchronize” all forces–getting them all to work together in order to concentrate forces. While it
One of the most misunderstood, misused, and yet important factors of organizational success is accountability. I find that tough-talking leaders are often the worst at
In my experience, many companies are not effective at developing leaders for one or more of these four reasons: Senior management doesn’t talk about leadership
Why many attempts at employee engagement are really just another form of control. http://boblegge.wordpress.com/
Recently I gave a talk at the New York Bankers Association Senior Management Conference about how to sustain a high-performance organization. One key to sustainable
The best way to improve performance, motivation, and engagement. http://boblegge.wordpress.com/
People have to motivate themselves–managers cannot do it for them. http://boblegge.wordpress.com/
People have to improve their own performance–managers can’t do it for them. http://boblegge.wordpress.com/
People improve their own performance. It’s an individual accountability. Leaders can provide the ways and the means for people to do that, but leaders cannot
If you ever had a doubt about the impact of culture, just look at the Veteran’s Administration, General Motors, Target, or the many other current
I spoke last week at the New York Bankers Association Senior Management Conference on strengthening leadership pipelines. Succession plans and leadership development are critically important