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...

Like an expert jazz group, successful small companies succeed when a limited

number of players are motivated by the founder’s vision. They know the team’s strengths and limitations, can cover for each other, are experts at shooting from the hip, can change direction on the fly and are capable of multi-tasking—in short, they do whatever it takes...

Processes are, if not under attack, then falling out of fashion among

a certain type of business cognoscenti. Planning is out. “Planning to learn” is in. Little bets, experimentation, just start, iteration, rapid prototyping, lean — these are the cool kids. Process is the dork in the corner wearing mom-jeans and an unironic Christmas...

Innovative technologies and new management processes come and go, but

the principles of effective leadership have remained constant throughout the ages. That’s because they are founded on timeless truths regarding what goes on within and between people. Management science however continues to deliver a never ending stream of time saving and quality...

Eli Goldratt, a world-class physicist, used his scientific prowess to

study a failing manufacturing plant owned by his brother. Findings turned the business around and inspired Eli to write a best-selling book called The Goal where he introduced his “Theory of Key .Constraint.”  Unfortunately,  rigid organizational structures and chain...

Effective companies manage by process-discipline--the equivelant of writing

In the music world, composers remain aloof from the inner workings of orchestras.  They remain process not execution oriented—they focus on what could be (if delivered properly). The job of the conductor and section leaders (management and supervision) is to select scores, attract and develop talent that can read music (rather than play by ear)...

Should the owners of small to midsize businesses be worried about the

...

Businesses that survived our prolonged recession deserve respect—but

To prosper in recovery, CEOs may have to shake off “hunker down” behaviors that helped them survive.  Success will depend on a company’s capacity to quickly, assess, decide, initiate, and eliminate.  Futurist David Houle calls this era the “shift-age”. He suggests that the ground will continue to move under our feet. Only...

Can people really change? Kurt Lewin sure thought so. Anyone who has ever

heard or used words like ‘feedback’ or ‘action research’ or ‘group dynamics’ or ‘self-managed work teams’ or ‘force field,’ has been impacted by Kurt Lewin. Known today as ‘the grandfather of applied behavioral science,’ Lewin, a Polish-born, Berlin-educated...

Management science and technology have combined to produce a “mega change

” in stereo.  Adaptations of digital technology allow us to:  create, transmit, compute, store, and retrieve data in ways that have marginalized time and distance as barriers to entry.  This revolution has catapulted us into Marshall McLuhan’s global village.  We are...