Perspectives
Make a new friend
You've probably sat in many meetings and noticed that there are always one or two people who don't actually say much of anything in those meetings. I used to figure that they mustn't have much to say but lately I found that I have been wrong. Everyone has an opinion...
Soft Skills
We all talk about Soft Skills and perhaps many of you are like me, you have trouble identifying what Soft Skills actually are. I found a good post the other day that laid it out. You can see the post here. Even better than the post was the accompanying chart. What I...
How are you improving productivity?
The world seems fixated on improving productivity and I guess if everyone else is doing it, you should be doing it too. Now what is the way most people think first about improving productivity? Well, of course, it's through computerization. Over the last 30 years...
Are you listening?
I asked Derek Fisher what he thought was the greatest skill he learned in being a manager and he said, listening. Surprisingly, his answer was repeated by several other people of whom I asked the same question. https://vimeo.com/40874809
Management by Walking Around
It's funny how something as simple as walking around chatting with people can become a style of management. Proponents of MBWA claim that: it allows managers to solve problems as they are happening. it fosters the development of informal networks. it keeps managers...
Effective Leadership Matters
Well duh? Of course effective leadership matters. Did we need a study to tell us this? Actually, we probably did. For some reason, we are predisposed to give people positions of power and authority without any training in management and leadership. Development...
Advice to Prospective Managers
If you think you might like to be a manager, listen to Kerri Golden's video blog about something you might like to consider. https://vimeo.com/35910889
The Innovation Formula
The press seems littered these days with articles bemoaning Canada's poor record at Innovation. Unfortunately, I think much of what is written and said misses the point. Let's go back to what Innovation actually is: It is successfully taking a new idea, product,...
A Broken Social Contract
When I was growing up, calling a person on the phone after 10:00 pm was just something you didn’t do. Nor did you butt ahead of people in line or call an elder by their first name without being explicitly invited to do so. There has always been some form of social...