Recently I’ve been on a kick to make sure that companies do not ignore the elephant in the room and to make sure the elephant gets out. There’s a corollary to those two posts for me that was prompted with the news this week that Popes John Paul II and John XXIII were canonized as […]
From the Blog
Let that Elephant Out!
Last time I talked about Susan Scott’s Fierce Conversations and the transformative power of words on relationships. As I continued my reading I came across a host of juicy insights but one section made me think about the fierce or necessary conversations that can and should take place, but don’t. Why? You guessed it—because the elephant is in the […]
Don’t Talk To, Talk With
I’ve been reading Susan Scott’s Fierce Conversations, which I find is a practical, insightful and life-affirming guide for achieving success in life and work—“one conversation at a time.” I feel a certain kinship with Scott, though I don’t know her personally. For one thing she was raised in Tennessee and now lives in Seattle. She […]
Navigate the Priceberg
In an article this month for Material Handling & Logistics Magazine, I reiterated a point I frequently make, that is, outsourcing and off-shoring are not interchangeable terms and the decision to outsource does not automatically mean that jobs are lost to another country. In the article, “Don’t Re-Shore the Priceberg” I note that the decision […]
Paying for Performance in the Legal Profession
About one year ago I wrote about a common problem in the legal profession—overbilling—as a prime example of the Activity Trap. It was a frightening example of “billable hours” gone bad and becoming a perverse incentive at a major law firm. So I was really pleased to read an article in the ABA Journal about […]
Getting What You Pay For
Whether you’re at the shopping mall or negotiating a contract, there’s no truer saying than “you get what you pay for.” But even more important are some related questions, like “Do you really know what you are paying for?” and “Do you know why and how you are paying for what you are getting?” That’s […]
Going “All-In” on Innovation
If you are taking a low-risk approach when it comes to innovation, you may not be doing much innovation that’s truly worthwhile. It’s an interesting take on innovation – and one that was shared in this Industry Week article, “Innovation: The High Cost of Low Risk.” The article takes the stance that “not all innovation […]
Driving Change in a Procurement Organization
In my last blog, I noted that change is never easy. Attempting to drive change in a procurement organization is no different. Mickey North Rizza, VP of Strategic Services at BravoSolution, recently outlined the challenges in a Procurement Leaders blog post, “Five Reasons Why Procurement Transformation Fails.” “Procurement processes have stayed the same for years […]
Dealing with Change
Change is never easy and putting together a successful change management strategy can be even more difficult. Come to think of it, the concept itself seems an oxymoron—how do you manage change management? Barbara Munyan Ardell, VP at Paladin Associates, Inc., underscored the sheer difficulty of organizational change efforts in a post for Checkmate Blog: “Research actually shows […]
Dell’s Vested Vision: A “Legacy of Good”
A major corporate sustainability report from Dell contains some highly Vested ideas advocated by the company’s Chairman and CEO, Michael Dell. Dell’s 2020 Legacy of Good Plan—released late last year—is ambitious, realistic and philosophically consistent as it attempts to forge a long-term, multi-dimensional culture of sustainability both within the company and with its suppliers. “We […]
