Tag: change
How to Keep a New Year’s Resolution Any Time of Year
Numerous studies -- and most people’s personal experiences -- show that New Year’s resolutions generally don’t pan out. They’re typically broken within a few weeks and forgotten by March. But that doesn’t mean that you... Continue readingIf It Ain’t Broke, It Still Needs Fixing: Some Thoughts on the Sandy Hook School Shooting
Perhaps the most frightening thing of all about the Sandy Hook School shooting in Newtown, CT is that the system worked. The guns that were used were legally obtained. Some might ask why any civilian... Continue reading
How to Cope with Permanently Unsuccessful Employees
We’ve all passed those storefronts where a succession of stores or restaurants open and close quickly and thought, “That’s a doomed location.” Some employees seem to take on this kind of role in an organization.... Continue reading
Reframing a Tattler’s Tale
Have you ever had to work with a tattletale? The parallels between childhood tattling and workplace tale-bearing came to mind while I was visiting a friend whose child kept appealing for adult intervention in her... Continue readingThere’s Sandy in My Oyster!
The idea that “the world is your oyster” is originally from Shakespeare. It suggests that the world is the equivalent of a closed shell, and that it is ours to enjoy and profit from, in... Continue reading
Your Customers Don’t Want to Be Trapped by Your Silos
A customer arrives at a service department he visits frequently to take care of some account maintenance. Before he leaves, he asks the department receptionist if she can pass along a document to another department.... Continue reading
To Make Change Successful, Focus on Talk and Trust
Change is often seen as creative and necessary. It can be invigorating, in the sense of a fresh start. But change is also almost irrepressibly hard. When we first try to give up a personal... Continue reading
A Positive Charge for a Negative Employee
How do you handle a perpetually negative employee? You may get an idea from this bit of conversation that I had with a distressed client about a pivotal but consistently negative staff member we’ll refer... Continue reading