Henry Ford is reported to have quipped, “Why is it that I always get the whole person when what I really want is a pair of hands?” The 21st century version doesn\’t sound quite like that, but its essence prevails in plenty of workplaces. The functional equivalent of Ford\’s thinking is housed in statements from […]
As a frequent conference speaker, I take advantage of other presentations when my schedule allows. So, I was delighted recently, with three hours to spare before heading to the airport, to hear best selling author of Built to Last, Jim Collins, address an Atlanta group. It was the story he told about interviewing management guru, […]
Seated at the table next to me at a fast food restaurant, I couldn\’t help hearing the lack of conversation between a young woman and a younger uniformed man, clearly employees of the establishment. “You need to take pride in your work,” she told him. There was no response. “I told you last week, to […]
Sitting in a waiting area above the tradeshow floor, I watched the forklift drivers deliver crates and boxes to small groups who were waiting to transform their rented cement floors into inviting marketing endeavors for the next day\’s expo opening, hosting seven thousand conference attendees. A microcosm of differing work styles, I found it fascinating […]
You may have seen this headline or heard about it on the news: “Sex, Shopping and Gambling All in a Day\’s Work.” It was generated by an Interior Department report, citing compelling numbers from an investigation that discovered one million log entries involving 7700 employees visiting auction, gaming, gambling and sex sites on company time. […]
“Red tape. Infighting. Office politics. Employee morale. Can\’t get things done. Lack of communication. Layers of bureaucracy. Not valued. Rude, difficult people. Indecision. Lack of support. Inconsistency. No clear direction.” These are sample answers from readers to a Winning at Working survey that asked about the biggest problems at work. And then we wonder, as […]
In the late 17th century, Lord Chesterfield, an English writer and politician, wrote to his son, “Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well.” Three hundred years later, we still heed this advice from the fourth Earl of Chesterfield. Yet doing it well doesn\’t mean doing it perfectly. The 21st century workplace requires […]
When faced with catching a fly ball, Lucy missed again. “The past got in my eyes,” she told Charlie Brown, “I thought I had it, but suddenly I remembered all the others I\’d missed.” In two decades in management, I\’ve known hundreds of workplace Lucys. People who let their past get in the way of […]
Traveling over the holidays to visit family outside of Denver, we were fortunate to arrive after a blizzard stranded thousands at the airport, and depart before the cancellation of flights for a second storm. However, our holiday presents were not as fortunate. Okay, things happen. Following up on the undelivered gifts we were informed by […]
I had just finished commenting to my husband how much I liked the use of copper in the Parade of Homes\’ kitchen we were touring, when I overheard another woman telling her husband how much she disliked the look. It made me laugh. It\’s funny how we see things differently. Work is like that too. […]
