Previous posts to my blog have argued for organizations to promote from within whenever possible. I feel this will have a tendency to reward loyalty, thus creating an espirit de corps within the ranks. One of the leading innovation and efficiency killers is having a staff of workers with low morale. Producing revenue from services…… Continue reading Loyalty Should be Rewarded
Customer service is something all organizations and businesses strive to achieve. Some can be quite good at it. Think about going to a store and returning an item. Depending on the organization, it can be something a customer can complete within a couple of minutes, while sometimes you may feel like you are being interrogated…… Continue reading Employees First, Customers Second
Far too often organizations are plagued with a mentality where the employees are not encouraged to think critically. Mandates and directives come down from the top, and cannot be challenged. Alternatively, the existing management may not entertain ideas and solutions provided by their subordinates because they may not be viewed as qualified enough to contribute. …… Continue reading Encourage Critical Thinking
As a manager, it may be nice to think of giving an order, and the staff follows it without question. It seems to be a good example of a strong organizational hierarchy, or the most effective and efficient way to run a department. I am the manager, they are the staff I supervise, and there…… Continue reading Should Staff Blindly Follow Orders?
The University of Michigan football team will forever be associated with its former head coach, Bo Schembechler. During his tenure as the head football coach, Michigan prospered and was routinely among the top ranked football programs in the nation. In addition to being a top performing program, many of the former players went on to…… Continue reading Book Review: Bo’s Lasting Lessons
Back in 2007 I was promoted to an IT manager, suddenly responsible for an evolving team of twelve analysts, all had varying degrees of skills and abilities, each of which also had a unique personality. I cannot speak with any authority on other organizations, but for me, it was a trial by fire. I think…… Continue reading Some Thoughts on Management
Over the last few years, I have read a few leadership and management books. It seems that when I was simply an IT analyst, the larger picture of things did not seem to apply. I did not really focus on the big picture and tended to keep a narrow focus on my tasks at hand. …… Continue reading Book Review: It’s Your Ship (Captain Michael Abrashoff)
Deep Thinking 