After hearing me deliver a keynote presentation at a conference this summer, “Amir,” a regional director for a large technical services firm, called for help. The company’s core service is delivered by highly paid technicians with deep expertise and qualifications. Replacing a technician is very difficult and costly. Amir called me because they had a […]
Read post »Lean/Six Sigma was brought into more popular use with the Total Quality Management/Continuous Quality Improvement movements over two decades ago (you can read some of the roots of approach in this online Introduction to Firing on all Cylinders: The Service/Quality System for High-Powered Corporate Performance). In 1990 MIT researcher James P. Womack published The Machine […]
Read post »In the opening lines of the chapter entitled, “Making Strength Productive” in his 1967 book The Effective Executive, the “father of modern management,” Peter Drucker writes, “to make strength productive is the unique purpose of organization. It cannot, of course, overcome the weakness with which each of us is abundantly endowed. But it can make […]
Read post »Last week I met with an HR VP to discuss lifting organizational performance through leadership and culture development. The company was doing well and growing through a few strategic acquisitions. Levels of customer satisfaction, service/quality, safety, productivity, and profits were good but not great. He and the senior team were looking for ways to boost […]
Read post »It’s been a long term — and ongoing — goal to make our website at www.clemmergroup.com a high-value destination for practical personal, team, and organizational leadership material that’s worth far more than you’re paying for it! Our steady increase in traffic has been gratifying feedback that we’re on the right track. As you’ve been reading […]
Read post »As a leadership geek my idea of weekend relaxation is cruising Internet sites for research, insights, and perspectives on culture and leadership development. I’ll often post these to my LinkedIn profile which also links to Twitter and my Facebook profile . If you’re not already connected to me on LinkedIn please send me an invitation to […]
Read post »We’ve just finalized a Strategic Partnership with Zenger Folkman (www.zengerfolkman.com). After so many years of successful partnering with Jack Zenger at his previous company (he headed up Zenger Miller when I was a partner in The Achieve Group), I am quite excited to be working with him and his colleagues again. Their foundation program is […]
Read post »I was just on a flight from Toronto to LaGuardia airport in New York City. Severe thunderstorms caused us to be diverted to nearby Newark, New Jersey. The captain kept us updated along the way. Once we’d landed in Newark he came into the cabin and asked who would like to get off here and […]
Read post »Last week’s 55 minute archived webcast on Leadership and Culture Development for Higher Health and Safety is now available. During the webcast I covered: Defining Culture Organizational Culture and Safety Performance Fatal Five Failure Factors Culture Transformation Pathways Key Implementation Steps Click on Leadership and Culture Development for Higher Health and Safety to access the […]
Read post »As I fine tuned my Leadership and Culture Development for Higher Health and Safety webcast presentation, I’ve been reflecting on the lessons learned from the quality movement and the widespread failure to apply those to workplace safety. Starting in the late eighties and eventually morphing into Lean/Six Sigma, the quality movement completely revolutionized management thinking […]
Read post »I recently ran a Moose-on-the-Table workshop for a major division of a large company going through the wrenching change of a wholesale restructuring and totally refocusing their business. Our session centered on fostering Courageous Conversations because their history of not addressing tough issues with each other was a major reason this division ran itself into […]
Read post »There’s a lot of mumbo jumbo being sold by “generational experts” that today’s young workers are very different from previous generations and need to be managed differently. Clearly there are differences between groups of people who grew up in different times, circumstances, and cultures. But people are people. And what we’re looking for from our […]
Read post »Last month I posted a blog on Use This 10 Point Checklist for a Leadership Check Up. This was developed as I prepared for this year’s only open/public Leading @ the Speed of Change workshop here in the center of the universe – my hometown of Kitchener, Ontario (just 45 minutes west of Toronto airport). […]
Read post »Toronto-based Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) has just released an excellent new “Career GPS” tool. This online assessment is designed to help HR professionals pinpoint and track their professional development goals. But the first six of eight Domains provides a very useful summary and checklist of the critical “soft skills” everyone in a management position […]
Read post »I am continually looking for research linking the “soft skills” of leadership and culture with safety performance. Most safety programs are focused on “hard” or tangible systems and processes like regulations, training, audits, risk assessments, compliance, incident analysis, and the like. Those are critical elements in moving toward zero workplace injuries. The focus of my […]
Read post »Our Linked 2 Leadership group on LinkedIn (connect with me at http://ca.linkedin.com/in/jimclemmer) is having a lively and insightful discussion on the question, “What are the top reasons why cultural transformations fail?” Since the failure rate of organizational change efforts like health and safety, quality, productivity, innovation, customer service, morale/engagement, teamwork, or public sector renewal is […]
Read post »Improving organizational health and safety is like motherhood. Everyone is in favor of it. Vision, values, and mission statements abound with warm words about its importance. Who doesn’t agree with slogans like “everyone going home safe and healthy every day”? Only the most twisted executive or manager wants to hurt anyone. Yet many organizations are […]
Read post »Looking beyond the commercialization of Valentine’s Day, it’s a great time to nurture our inner romantic and express gratitude for our loved ones. As I write I am listening to a randomized Beatles playlist. Of the nearly 200 songs on the list, “The Word” started playing as I began this blog post. Its opening lines […]
Read post »Over the past few decades many organizations have jumped on the change bandwagon with a long list of resolutions to change their ways and develop new habits. Here’s a partial list: Safety culture Customer centric/focus/service Teamwork Innovation Flexibility/adaptability to change Best place to work/top employer Excellence Market/industry leadership Higher employee engagement Like too many New […]
Read post »Last week’s follow up leadership and culture development webinar is now available for you to review. The session outlined our implementation steps, approaches, and Client examples for leadership, organization, and culture development. Building on my Leading a Peak Performance Culture webcast (click on the title to view it) this webinar starts with a 35 minute […]
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