My friend KC Tolliver, CEO of Summit Resource Imports, told me a story about how he started his business. In college he had started a small business selling branded baseball caps; coming out of college he wanted to build a business. He targeted a few importers and aimed to become a supplier for them. One
There is no doubt – an effective organization must have clear lines of accountability. People must know what they are accountable for, and key priorities need owners. Shared accountability often leads to confusion, and that leads to delays or worse. But we don’t work in the ideal organization. Lines of accountability are not always clear.
Adversity is an opportunity for greatness Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work Thomas Edison Not knowing when the dawn will come I open every door Emily Dickinson A man must make his opportunity, as oft as find it Francis Bacon When written in chinese, the
All too often we find ourselves at a crossroads, with the task of having to make a hard decision. It is “Go/no go” We view it as Black or white Do we Go this way or that way? What horse do we bet on? Decision-making is like that. As leaders we are skilled at making
I was speaking to a class of Executive MBA students. The approach I took was to give them a “career walk” of my career from my days as a Management Trainee at APL to running my own company now. At each point of my career walk, I gave perspectives of key lessons learned and key
I saw a great Youtube video by The Employee Engagement Group on Employee Engagement. It defines Employee Engagement as being about mutual commitment between the Company and the employee. That is a great definition. When both the employee and the company are committed to each other’s success and satisfaction, then “discretionary effort” is unleashed –
At a recent retreat, we had an amazing discussion about work life balance, about reinvention. It was a great discussion and we came at it from different angles but the same conclusions. It takes hard work. Coming back from the retreat, I have thought long and hard about work life balance. I have spent the
I am a logistician I am a pragmatist I like to plan I advise people for a living. I buy a lottery ticket every week. I know the math and I know the odds. It is a waste of money, but yet I do it. I am disciplined in the way I approach things. It
I have been thinking a lot about friendship. When I recently got together with one of my best friends, it was the same old familiar refrain, “ I can’t believe it has been so long, but then when we get together it feels like only yesterday…” Yeah right. I am not a great friend. I
Putting the customer at the center of your business needs to happen at all levels. It starts at the Boardroom. If your Management Board, or your Management Team are talking to customers and discussing customer issues and feedback on a regular level, then the levers to be managed are seen with a view towards the
