The following steps outside of my blog’s genre. To find solutions to

The founders focused a clear vision of a future where every citizen had an inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The vision, although beyond the reach of their current reality, was an ideal worth moving towards.  However, the constitution they authored afforded a timeless means of continuous improvement.  It recognized...

The statue of Silence, a remarkable work of art sculpted in the 1870s

This beautiful and historically unique statue played an important role in the writing of my books about Montreal, Montreal: City of Secrets, which documented the close ties between Montreal and the Confederacy during the Civil War and Savannah, Savannah: Immortal City and the second book Savannah: Brokers, Bankers and Bay Lane provided the most thorough...

Management is failing to educate workers on the workings and benefits

Example: “if employees were to save $50,000.00 per year by correcting a recurring shipping problem, the saving would go directly to the bottom line.  If their company was retaining 10% of its total revenue (after expenses), that $ 50, 000.00 contribution represents $500,000 that does not have to be sold.  In a tight economy how many jobs might...

What’s your end game?  Business owners seldom have an answer to that

question—they usually lament about being too busy to even consider possibilities.  It’s an undeniable fact that your game will end.  Will you sell the business…turn it over to the next generation…or perform a daily grind until you die—leaving your family and the government...

Prosperity depends on survival.  To survive and prosper, companies and

employees must accept that doing more with less is the new normal.  Marginal performers not only fail to carry a fair share of the load, they eat up an inordinate amount of resources because of needless waste and rework.  More importantly, marginal performers inhibit the generation...

Establishing an Ethics Platform requires clear boundaries. When boundaries

are blurred or poorly defined, cultural-values slip to ‘what the company tolerates’. CEOs must work diligently to close the tolerance gap. Executives, managers and supervisors must be taught then held accountable to deliver an immediate performance redirection session based...

Aligning a culture to support strategic initiatives such as delivering

on a brand promise, begins with the clarification of shared values—a task that is easier said than done—the critical factor is the word “shared”.  Values are not what organizations claim or wish them to be.  Values are signaled to the world by what a company tolerates. ...

Today’s post   is not intended to be partisan although many readers

The mess we are in was not caused by presidents, members of congress, the judiciary, or constitutional tenets.  Rather it is being caused by a combination of; the untoward influence of special interest groups, a disregard for economic reality (most  politicians and a plethora of their advisors have no personal business experience),  dysfunctional...

CEOs do not create an organization’s values.  They do however clarify

Corporate values and their future tense (vision) serve as a powerful catalyst for the generation of corporate energy.  They also provide a platform for delivering on the organization’s brand promise—they align employees.  CEO  signals of cultural values, delivered by consistent words and deed,  will inspire customers, suppliers, and employees...

Benjamin Franklin was a man of action. Over his lifetime, his curiosity

and passion fueled a diverse range of interests. He was a writer (often using a pseudonym), publisher, diplomat, inventor and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.  His inventions included the lightning rod, bifocals and the Franklin stove. Franklin was responsible...