Recently I have been involved in a visioning process and it reminded of the most common problem that occurs in organizations as they attempt to match their reality with their desires. Hours can be spent setting a vision, supporting it with a mission and checking it for validity against our values. Usually everyone will enthusiastically… Continue reading »
Aug
07
Presidents, Leaders, Change and Hardwired Humans
I watched in amazement as the president of a charity organization resigned three weeks into his term. The issue that has bought him to this course of action was his difficulty in instigating a change process. A new vision statement had been drawn up and he was seeking “buy in” from the group. He was,… Continue reading »
Jul
17
MANAGEMENT PROBLEM SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR TEAMS AND LEADERS
Do you have the attributes of an effective problem solver? I have read that the ideal problem-solving individual would look something like this: ‘This person will be an effective team worker, original thinker, someone who can work independently, a flexible person and a divergent and convergent thinker who can effectively verbally elaborate and who possesses… Continue reading »
Jun
14
Michael Treacy – Business Growth Through Innovation
‘The challenge for growth is not in the market place limitations it’s in the management team.’ Michael Treacy The Growth Problems Strategy Problem – where are the opportunities? Innovation Problem – generating new initiatives. Discipline Problem – creating self sustaining system of insights, actions and learning. Growth through Innovation Part 1 Summary of the “how… Continue reading »
Apr
13
Delegation: 20 Rules, a Quick Checklist
Delegation Rule 1 Only do it if you want to develop your staff not to just dump work. Delegation Rule 2 Trust them first, train & test for competence before you delegate, Delegation Rule 3 Clearly define the tasks that must be done and limits of authority attached. Delegation Rule 4 Explain what’s in it… Continue reading »
Feb
06
Are You Leading or Just Managing?
Being a leader-manager can be an “iffy” proposition. Four “ifs” to begin with. If you are controlling your work group, rarely leave your department, constantly micro manage all processes to check what the staff are up to, constantly defining what a ‘good’ job looks like, stipulating standards, insisting on a rigorous regime of task methodology… Continue reading »
Jan
19
Effective Delegation, Management & Leadership Success
What exactly is delegation? Not a silly question, many think they know and don’t. Delegation of a task or activity to someone in our team or department, even though it is a central function of management, is often a greatly misunderstood process. Recently I read a paper by a gentleman with a PhD who stated… Continue reading »
Nov
04
Questions Managers Must Ask WHY BUSINESSES FAIL – 3
Poor sales performance is a major contributor to the demise of many. Obvious on the surface however, what’s the problem? Changes in the market place, technological advances, disruption of key relationships, over dependence on one customer or key product and poor sales planning are all major contributors to failure. Two critical planning issues are, quantity… Continue reading »
Oct
31
A Manager’s Questions WHY BUSINESSES FAIL – 2
A quote from credit reporting agency, “the reasons businesses fail don’t change much” and ‘we used to ask why the businesses failed, but we discontinued the surveys because the reasons were very stable’. They went on to say, “ninety percent of failures are the result of bad management and the other big reason is failure… Continue reading »





