Eliminating Waste
If you ever find yourself saying; “There must be a better way”, I can guarantee you that there is. All we must do is find it. And, once a successful solution is suspected, try it. And when found,...
View ArticleThe Fault Lies Not in the Stars, but Within Ourselves
I hear all too often from professionals in Continuous Improvement how “Senior Leadership does not give me the support I need”. Some go further by making the claim that “Senior Leadership just doesn’t...
View ArticleTransformation vs Disruption
Transformation… I am hearing more and more talk about how companies are seeking to transform themselves, or that they are launching a transformation initiative. And as expected, there is the...
View ArticleProfessional Development and Networking using Social Media
If you are reading this, you probably engage in professional networking on social media. And if you are like me, you have been engaging for a very long time. The motivation is probably similar to...
View ArticleThe Antidote for VUCA is OODA
The date is September 15, 2008. The crisis in subprime mortgages had been going on for a little over a year. It was triggered in the last half of 2006 when house prices began to fall as the housing...
View ArticleBuild Organizational Capacity and Capability – For Free
I was coaching one of the national oil companies in the Middle East, offering mentorship to the director of their operational excellence program. He was frustrated because he had invested considerable...
View ArticleYou Are Unique, but Not Special
In my article, “Build Organizational Capacity and Capability – For Free”, I listed several root-causes for training and education programs reaching a “stall speed” and a detailed approach for avoiding...
View ArticleOODA and Agility; Reaching a Conclusion Faster
Since the beginning of recorded history, great leaders of engagements have known two things; 1) Time is the enemy with speed and decisiveness in making a decision being an advantage and 2) there is no...
View ArticleBeing Clear and Concise
The date is November 19th, 1863. A crisp autumn day in the fields of southern Pennsylvania in a little farm-town called Gettysburg. Just four months earlier, the fierce battle of Gettysburg raged...
View ArticleHave CIA Operatives Infiltrated Your Business?
Do you ever wonder why things don’t get done as quickly as they should? Do things get lost in the shuffle? Perhaps you find that you have to more closely supervise the people who are supposed to be...
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Wicked Problems
There are all manner of problems (being an optimist, I rather use the term “challenge”) that we face each and every day. Most of these challenges are simple enough: what’s for dinner this eve; is...
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The Devil You Know
I devote a lot of my time helping people and companies get from their present reality to some new reality. It is rarely easy and – although almost always considered a success – the success is not...
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Fail fast, fail small, learn, and move on
Nobody likes to fail. Failing causes us embarrassment. Failing bruises our ego. Failing might be a dark spot on our performance assessments. All we have to do is reflect on our childhood for when we...
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The Gig Economy – No Jobs, Just Work
There has been a lot written lately of the “Gig Economy” – the notion that, in the future of earning a living, there will no longer be jobs, just work. It’s an earnings environment where the supply...
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CEO’s and their Sausages – Learn to Love them Like They Do.
It’s been another week, much like the many other weeks for me. In addition to running a couple of companies, working on a few projects and pitching others, and the routine management and engagement of...
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Doing Right vs Doing It Right
It seems that not a day goes by without our reading about someone getting caught in the processes of a system – aggreged not (necessarily) by nefarious intent, but by a process that didn’t take into...
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Briefing; A “State of Readiness”
It’s taken a long time—but the time has finally come. The release of my book, “State of Readiness”, has arrived. My project officially started almost two and a half years ago. That was the day I...
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So, you want to write a book…
My book, “State of Readiness”, was published in May this year (2017). And it’s been almost six months since I have written a fresh article. It’s not been for a lack of topics. In fact, I have...
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The Recession is Dead – Long Live the Recession
The competitive advantage for businesses in the 20th Century was centered around the efforts related to process excellence – making the processes throughout a business as efficient and as effective as...
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Lean Six Sigma – Reality or a Myth?
“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived, and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.” —John F. Kennedy It seems at every conference,...
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Who has the “Old Maid”?
I was speaking with a friend who is the Chief Operating Officer of a multi-national chemical processing company a few weeks ago. We were speaking about the various challenges that he is facing, which...
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Leveraging Technology in Pharma
I am not easily impressed by technology. In fact, I am often a contrarian and don’t easily buy into the hype of the “next great thing”. It’s probably a combination of factors. One being that I...
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8.5 “MUST KNOW” CAREER TIPS & TRICKS (V.DONE)
I have been an entrepreneur and in business – nonstop – since 1985. And over the course of those 30-plus years, I have gained a lot of experience. But as the saying goes; “Experience is the most...
View ArticleMarketing Consulting
“Your brand is the single most important investment you make in your business.” – Steve Forbes What is marketing consulting? Marketing consultancy is offered by skilled professionals who...
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Hurry Up and Slow Down
I just got off the golf course hitting 9-holes with my Pop, who is 84 years old. God bless him, I hope he has many more rounds to play and I look forward to getting out as often as I can with him. We...
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Meetings: As certain and as joyous as death and taxes
There are very few people that actually enjoy meetings. I have never heard anyone say, “I can’t wait for the meeting this afternoon” unless it’s followed by “I won’t have to eat at my desk.”...
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“Stealth” Mentorship
I would find it hard to believe that any successful person achieved that success without having at least one mentor along their journey – someone who was instrumental and influential in the life...
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Reading is fundamental, but comprehension is important too
The art of debate has devolved. No longer is it used as a tool of discovery, understanding, reconciliation, and progress. Today, it is a tool used to beat one another into submission – with the...
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Artificial Intelligence; The Next “Undiscovered Country”
In William Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” (usually referred to simply as “Hamlet”), the main character, Hamlet, uses the phrase “undiscovered country” to refer to what lies...
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Operational Excellence – A Personal Case Study
I write often about Operational Excellence. How we live in a world of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity (VUCA). How time is the enemy of the 21st century company and that the...
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