The role models that many CEOs emulate achieved success during an era

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As the founder and CEO of Achieve, I was involved with implementation

of total quality initiatives for many corporations such as; Black and Decker, Amex, and UPS.  My experience suggests that cross functional  meetings on any topic  have little to no chance of succeeding unless they are viewed (and managed)as part of a comprehensive culture change...

In the folowing, John Scherer, reminds us that before we attach blame

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Why do the insignificant behaviors of other people get on our nerves

at times?  I remember experiencing a bad hair day because a colleague  I would be spending a great deal of time with smacked his lips while chewing food.  The closer people are to each other, the more powerful the annoyance factor seems to become.  For years, I drove my family...

Black & Decker had made a large acquisition.  They erroneously assumed

that corporate earnings would facilitate internal funding.  Shortly after the deal closed, revenues from the acquisition went south—the  status quo made internal funding a non starter.  Black and Decker companies were already performing to world-class standards, so demanding...

Like an expert jazz group, successful small companies can create beautiful

music because a limited number of players are motivated by the founder’s vision. They know the team’s strengths and limitations, cover for each other, are experts at; shooting from the hip, changing direction on the fly, and multi-tasking.  In short, they will do whatever...

 Have you been struggling with radical changes in your world?  In the

olden days, with more fat in the system, we could afford waste, rework, and high-risk initiatives.  Executives danced shamelessly from one silver bullet to another.  Management teams would return from offsite planning sessions with their eyes blazing—another grand solution...

 Much of the attitudinal and behavioral dysfunction on shop floors and

in our offices is the consequence of conditioning.  Prior to the 60’s, societal discipline came from a code of ethics framed by the constitution—we were a nation of laws. I believe that our historical conformance to the “rule of the law” is being overshadowed by what progressive...

Believers call it a blessing, physiologists call it being centered, and

My first experience with being in “the zone” was pitching baseball.  On infrequent occasions, I would shake off the catcher’s signal and demand a different selection.  The process was almost (but not quite) subconscious.  Everything seemed to slow down.  I would become acutely aware of miniscule deficiencies in the batter’s stance. ...

In ancient times, actors played multiple roles by covering their face

with a variety of masks called facades.  Modern language adapted the word facade to mean, “putting on a front or false appearance.”  Facades are useful at times, for example, forcing yourself to smile at a well intentioned friend when you are really disappointed or masking...