“Common sense is not so common.” –Voltaire Can you define common sense? I know, it’s hard. What if the root of all your problems comes down to not understanding what common sense is? Merriam-Webster defines it as “sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts.” Sounds simple, doesn’t? But…
“We must all efficiently Operationalize our strategies Invest in world-class technology And leverage our core competencies In order to holistically administrate Exceptional synergy” –Weird Al Yankovic “Mission Statement” This is what I call stock language. It means something, and it doesn’t mean anything. It could literally be the cause of all of your problems. It…
I know, you thought the series was over, but I got requests for more–and I’m a sucker for requests. (Especially when it comes to solving business problems.) If there was just one thing that was holding you back–just one thing–would you want to know what it is? No matter how uncomfortable the truth made you?…
So, what’s your business trouble? Not enough sales Cash flow is tight My people won’t listen I don’t have enough time This is what people say, but none of them are actually problems, and that’s why they don’t change. Huh? They’re not problems? These are symptoms, and to put it bluntly: You’ve been so brainwashed…
I joked last week that I’d call the finale of this series “Apocalypse” and a wise and dear friend of mine reminded me the word comes from the Greek meaning “uncover, reveal.” Funny how the revealing of truth came to mean the end of the world. This is how afraid we are as a species…
“Why don’t you just tell them that?” “Huh?” my client invariably says. “You want high performers, but you think your employee is uncoachable, not listening, and acting out?” “That’s what I’m saying, yes.” “So just say that,” I say. “But how would they respond? They might quit! I can’t start a conversation when I don’t…
Let’s talk about “employee problems.” Because they’re bullshit. There’s no such thing as an employee problem. I’ll explain. Last week in part two, I offered a simple question as a tool to create engagement for employees: “What don’t you like about yourself, and how can I help you use your job to change it?” A…
I admit I was a bit afraid to hit “send” on last week’s article–not only because I wrote “bullshit” fifteen times, but because it deeply challenged leaders and managers to get real. But it got the best feedback this year, so I wrote a part two. Who knows, maybe it’s a series? Do you want…
It seems managers hate hiring more than they hate hiring mistakes. Hiring is a deadly combination of mission-critical and poorly executed. People avoid it like crazy. It’s uncomfortable, time-consuming, and they just want to get it over with. Many businesses create all of their problems through regular hiring mistakes. I’m going to let you in…
Amazon bought my customer loyalty again. I recently bought a compost tumbler from them. It was a bit smaller than I’d thought. I might need a second. Putting it together sucked: sixty-two screws and two hours. I had to undo and redo forty minutes of work because the instructions were so bad. I was almost…