the consummate leader
results the right way
It’s all about me!
Wouldn’t it be great if everyone did what we wanted them to do all the time? Make a request and BOOM!, the request is granted. Ask for something to be accomplished and SHAZAM!, it’s done. That would be awesome! And, what if it happened for everyone? Wouldn’t that be great? We'd all be happy all the time. Well, let’s get over that…we all know that this isn’t the way it is. The waiter doesn’t bring the water. My 15 …
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The Silver Bullet
In folklore, the silver bullet is supposed to be the only kind of bullet for firearms that is effective against a werewolf, witch, or other monsters. The term has been adopted into a general metaphor, where "silver bullet" refers to any straightforward solution perceived to have extreme effectiveness. The phrase typically appears with an expectation that some new technological development or practice will easily cure a major prevailing …
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Do you want fries with that?
One simple behavior can lead to $100's of millions in more business. What if you were able to ask your employees to do one thing...one simple thing...differently and that one thing led to $100's of millions in more business? Interested? Love them or hate them, Southwest Airlines makes money. They do the basics better than any other airline. Think like turn planes around faster, get passengers on board faster, and provide basic service …
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The $oft $tuff
Disclaimer: This is a topic that brings out the cynic in me. There are so many different approaches to change management and, after 25 years of doing this, I know what good looks like. I’m not talking about “the model.” I’m talking about the underlying philosophy and drivers—the engine that makes it work. Have you ever heard (or perhaps uttered the words yourself) "that's the soft stuff" in reference to the people side of …
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As Easy as ABC
So this is easy...it really is. We all behave...we speak and we do. That's it. That's what behavior is...the things we say and do. Isn't that easy? Interestingly, we're all pretty comfortable with the things that we say and do--our own behavior. It's other people's behavior that gets in the way sometimes. So why does that happen? Why do other people do things that are not acceptable, desired, wanted, and so on? Well the answer …
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MY perception and THE reality
It's not what we don't know that hurts us. It's what we believe is true that isn't that does the damage. You've likely heard the saying "perception is reality." For those of us doing the perceiving it is OUR reality. It might not be THE reality, but it is our version of reality (I'm not trying to get all metaphysical on you here). Normally, the two versions are close enough not to cause us problems. However, there are times when the …
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Meet the Consummate Leader
While no one is perfect, the Consummate Leader is as close as you can get. The Consummate Leader has it all together. She gets results and affects change…no doubt about it. But, she does it in a way that inspires and compels others to higher performance and they enjoy it. After all, the Consummate Leader knows how to connect with his direct reports, peers, and senior leaders so they trust him, respect him, and want to work with him. …
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What’s a nice engineer…
...doing with a site like this?
One of my first jobs out of school was working in a glass factory. And, one of the first projects they gave me in the glass factory was to implement a statistical process control system. (For those not familiar, …
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My Latest Project
How do you get a 100+ year old facility to accept a radically different approach to work? That was the challenge put before me three years ago when I was asked to come into one of the oldest oil refineries on the West Coast to help implement new …
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Why this site?
After 20+ years of consulting to businesses in all types of industries and of all sizes, I have been asked many times if I had a blog or someplace to come for information, to get answers to questions, and to learn more about what I do.
Well, this …
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