Monthly Archives: May 2011

Living in a “Stressed Out” Zoo: The Giraffe, Cat, and Monkey

It is generally accepted that each of us is affected and deals with stress differently.  Nevertheless, there are some things in the workplace that impact us all: feeling out of control of workload or environment; failing to know where the … Continue reading

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The Zoo: Taming and Training Personalities

I met with a management team last week that was concerned about poor morale in their organization due the stress of the workplace.  Although the organization was doing fairly well overall, it was starting to “fray around the edges.”  When … Continue reading

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Cost of Doing and Not Doing Maintenance

Preventive maintenance is something that many of us talk about, but never seem to get around to completing.  Basically, preventive maintenance is conducted to keep equipment or a facility working efficiently and extend its operating lifespan.  The primary goal of … Continue reading

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The Power of Being Recognized

Have you ever been at an event and someone came up to you that you knew from high school, college, or even a previous job and asked if you are the person he or she thinks you are?  If the … Continue reading

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Hiding Your Head: The Mighty Ostrich

A common phrase for those that do not address immediate or critical concerns in the workplace is to “bury their heads in the sand.” Even small children, immediately think of ostriches when hearing the phrase and will bend over with … Continue reading

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At the Crossroads: Action by Stop, look, listen

According to the Federal Railroad Administration, in the last ten years about 3,000 railroad crossing accidents have taken place with an annual rate of 1,000 deaths.  Conrail reports that almost two-thirds of the crossing accidents occur during the day.  A … Continue reading

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At the Crossroads: Decision Making Challenges

How many times have you faced a tough decision that you felt almost helpless to make a decision? We all have faced that moment.  The expression of “being at a crossroads” is a common expression to represent a point where … Continue reading

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Management Dichotomies: Simple Thinking in a Complex Environment

So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work. Peter Drucker The great management guru Peter Drucker sums up management very well in the above quote.  Managing other people has been a challenge … Continue reading

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Performance Dichotomies: Measuring Performance

Numerous organizations struggle with what is the appropriate method of measuring individual performance or contribution to the goals and outcomes of their organization.  Time and again, I meet with organizations that know they are doing well, but have not found … Continue reading

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