We’ve talked at length about the uncertainty that has surrounded us all for longer than we care to remember. This uncertainty has manifested itself in the workforce in countless ways, including high rates of absenteeism, massive supply chain issues, and increased instances of employee burnout. We’ve also talked about what it takes to get through these challenging times. In fact, the words “resilience” and “adaptability” have become as much a part of our vocabulary as “masks” and “Zoom.” Yet, while we understand theoretically that we need to shift and transition, many continue to resist change ..read more

At the time of this writing, COVID-19 is a global pandemic. This is an incredibly serious issue; hundreds of thousands of people have become ill, and many have died. Containment in the US and elsewhere is bringing businesses, governments, cities, and normal life to a halt. But there are many businesses that have to figure out how to keep operating. This isn’t simply a time to think about continuous improvement, but rather for us to ask ourselves, “How can we show up and serve as problem solvers during this crisis?” Practitioners are working to shift their paradigms as well as their approach to ..read more

Times of Uncertainty Demand It Regardless of the amount of change and uncertainty we’ve been though, there are always some consistencies. And in terms of an organization, those consistencies rest with the attributes and behaviors of leadership. At their foundation, they are about the resilience, persistence, and ability to be agile. Only in these ways will we be able to make the organizational transformations needed for success. The pandemic and its lingering aftershocks have transformed the workplace in countless ways. We are still experiencing high rates of absenteeism, adjustments to remot ..read more

We’ve been talking a lot about playing offense lately. It’s no secret it’s time to free ourselves from the defensive mode we’ve all been in for far too long. We’ve talked about transformation, resilience, and adaptability, as we shift our mindsets from a reactionary standpoint to an anticipatory one. But let’s be very clear – we cannot do any of it without clarity. With the constant volatility and change surrounding us for over two years, it’s no wonder we’re all a bit confused … to say the least. We feel stuck, unsure of which direction to turn, uncertain about what comes next. So, we stay st ..read more

With the Super Bowl not far behind us and discussions already underway for what to expect next season, we’ve been surrounded by talk of the teams, coaches, and strategies employed. Oftentimes, we talk about the team with the strongest offense. After all, the team with the strongest offense will likely move the ball down the field more, put the most points on the board, and probably win the game. All of this talk inspired me to think about the alignment between this time-honored game and running our businesses. I started to wonder – Isn’t it time to start playing more offense and less defense ..read more

I recently spoke at Lean Frontier’s Lean Leadership Week Summit, which focused on lean people development and lean accounting. This summit traditionally attracts a lot of HR professionals working in organizations undergoing a lean journey. During a concurrent session, I shared some of the ways that I’ve exercised with clients to engage HR early in the lean people development strategy. Lean used to be widely known as a manufacturing solution for continuous improvement, and is more recognized today as a method that fits any operational improvement situation. Another truism—that most agree with—i ..read more