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“It is surprising how little most small business values the customer. Positive feedback from the customer is critical to your business, and what’s more important is their referral.” –Fabrizio Moreira A major grocery store chain performed a series of focus-group studies to ascertain what constituted a good shopping experience. Everyone in the organization expected the …

The Innovator’s Field Guide: What Are They Saying About You? Read More »

“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” -Philip K. Dick Only one of the following two statements is true. Care to fancy a guess? A: One of Christopher Columbus’s goals in crossing the Atlantic Ocean was to prove the Earth is round. B: The Earth is a sphere and …

The Top Performer’s Field Guide: When the Earth Was Flat Read More »

“It makes a difference, doesn’t it, whether we fence ourselves in or whether we are fenced out by the barriers of others?” -E.M. Foster One burden of leadership is that invisible walls can exist between ourselves and our team members. Some of these barriers we can understand and work to limit. We use the sledgehammers …

The Top Performer’s Field Guide: Invisible Walls Read More »

“He who stands aloof runs the risk of believing himself better than others and misusing his critique of society as an ideology for his private interests.” –Theodor Adorno There’s a reason why the CBS reality series Undercover Boss has been on the air for eight seasons. The show places a chain-store executive or owner of …

The Innovator’s Field Guide: The Leader in the Corner Office Read More »

“If it’s creativity you’re after, ask your employees to solve problems alone before sharing their ideas. If you want the wisdom of the crowd, gather it electronically or in writing, and make sure people can’t see each other’s ideas until everyone has had a chance to contribute.” – Susan Cain Flying anywhere in the world …

The Top Performers Field Guide: The Devil’s Advocate Read More »

Almost all quality improvement comes via simplification of design, manufacturing … layout, processes, and procedures.” -Tom Peters Does the phrase “process quality” make your head spin? Do acronyms like ISO, TQM, PDCA, BPR, and OQM and the associated flowcharts and hours in hotel banquet halls watching PowerPoints make you wonder if you will ever implement …

The Innovator’s Field Guide: Making Quality Personal Read More »

“People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.” -Thomas Sowell Meetings are an essential component of quality communications in any business. The impact of face-to-face communications can be drastically reduced if the tool isn’t used judiciously. No one wants to attend a meeting that could have been handled through another method of …

The Innovator’s Field Guide: Meeting in Style Read More »

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” ~ Winston Churchill Have you ever wondered what sets the top athletes apart from the rest? Physical strength and skill certainly play a role, but what truly separates the champions from the average is their ability to push their …

Mental Toughness and Peak Performance: In Work, Leadership and Life, It Matters Read More »

Mental Toughness: “The quality of being adaptable, with the ability to bounce back despite significant adversity, and to remain focused on a desired outcome, regardless of the external situation, circumstances, or pressure.” In the last blog, we discussed the concept of “Mental Toughness and Peak Performance” and the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought …

Developing Mental Toughness: A Perfect 10 for People Who Win Read More »

In the past two blogs, we have discussed the impact of mental toughness (also called mental resilience, perseverance and grit) on both individual and organizational performance. We explored the impact the global COVID pandemic has had on mental resilience, and we reviewed a bit of the research exposing the lack of mental toughness in the …

The Leadership Imperative: Improving Mental Toughness in the Workplace Read More »