Category: Business Culture

Are you settling for less?

I was reading an Article recently by Rev. Chris Michaels. In it he says, “Sometimes the greatest temptation in life is to settle for less than we really want.” How often does this
happen in the business world? We’ve all heard things like:

–    “You know it is better to go along and get along.”
–    “Not everyone wants the same things you want.”
–    “You have higher standards than everybody else.”

Does that mean we settle? I remember several years ago at a company …

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Creating an Environement for Success

I am reading the book, the Social Animal by David Brooks. His
character Erica is a lower middle class girl, who is raised by a single mom in essence who appeared to suffer from manic depression. When she is ready for eighth grade she reaches a decision;
she wants to change the trajectory of her life.

“She somehow …

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What Do You Know?

We are trained to eliminate the phrase. “I don’t know from a very early age.” In school when they called on you, you needed to know the answer. When you are
working through your career, the boss doesn’t like hearing I don’t know. And yet, when we eliminate that phrase from our vocabulary and hence our thinking we can no longer know. It is a bit of
a paradox.

Think about this, If …

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Headcount or Employee Loyalty what has more value

I was having a conversation with a colleague the other day. He was telling me about how they had switched suppliers of outsourced customer service. And then he
shared the frustration.

With his old supplier, when he received a customer complaint they would play a recording of the call. In some cases the call would be fine. In others my friend would suggest that the rep get some
re-training. When completed they supplier would call to say the rep is coming back …

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Esprit de Corps and Culture

I am reading the book, War Fighting, published by the United States Marine Corp, in 1989. I was struck by the following phrase, “Leaders should develop unit
cohesion and esprit and the self-confidence of individuals within the unit. In this environment, a Marine’s unwillingness to violate the respect and trust of peers can overcome personal
fear.”

This speaks to the value of Culture in an organization. When there is a strong culture, …

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