The Power of Upstream Thinking
You are walking by the side of a river when you hear screams of distress: a child is drowning. You plunge into the water and…
Think Smart, Think Systems: Solve the Problem, Then Fix the System
If you wish to truly make a difference in the world, if you wish to advance, it is not enough to solve the problem right…
Systems Thinking and Critical Thinking Skills: Two Must Have Abilities to Deal With an Ever Increasingly Complex World
Embrace Systems Thinking: Solve the Problem, Fix/Improve the System that allowed it to happen “All Systems are perfectly aligned to deliver the results they do.” Systems…
Systems and Sisyphus
Do you think in terms of Systems? That many situations involve multiple players making multiple moves over time? Always focus First on Removing Restraining Forces…
Solve The Problem, Then Fix The System
As a leader, I attempt to mentor, help Team Members grow, find the greatness in them, how to be both efficient AND effective; how to…
(2 of 3) Stephen R. Covey on Empowerment
Empowerment is the process of sharing knowledge, authority, and responsibility further down the organization than previously thought possible. The goal is to fully tap into…
Expect Success, Plan for Failure
The more complex a system or situation, the more true this phrase is. I am a firm believer in having backups within backups for all…
Expect Success, Plan for Failure
The more complex a system or situation, the more true this phrase is. I am a firm believer in having backups within backups for all…
Expect Success, Plan for Failure
The more complex a system or situation, the more true this phrase is. I am a firm believer in having backups within backups for all…
Hard Drives out Soft
When I started out in business (real estate ownership and management), I decided there were three things I had to emphasize to my Team Members:…
Beware the Cost of the Middleman!
Understanding Systems and How to Make them Better Maine lobsters have plunged in price from $10 a pound a few years ago to less than…
Hard Drives Out Soft
When I started out in the real estate ownership and management business, I decided there were three things I had to emphasize to my Team…
The Leader’s Path: Evolving Points of View
I used to oppose the minimum wage, for some excellent reasons that reflected sound economic reasoning. Over the years I’ve gradually switched sides. You probably…
Why Smart People Do Dumb Things: Good Intentions Gone Awry
Systems theory states that organizations are systems of connected and interdependent groups, none of which can be understood in isolation from each other. Unfortunately, individuals…
The 5 Whys: Getting to Root Causes, Fast!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Whys The “5 Whys” spring from Toyota and are a simple problem-solving exercise designed to go beyond symptoms to unearth the root cause of problems.…
The Joys of Simplicity
Effectively thinking outside the box requires a deep knowledge of the key elements of a system along with the raw courage to eliminate the superfluous…
Escaping the Tunnel
Tunneling occurs when we are (or at least feel we are) overwhelmed. When folks get slammed with problems, they often enter the tunnel, adopting tunnel…
It’s the System, Silly
Sufficient credit often is not given for the supporting system in the success or failure of a business or enterprise. A recent case is the…
Simple Ideas, Complex Execution
The secrets to success often lie in plain sight. They are secrets only because we chose to overlook them. Sometimes the most mundane can serve…
PopCap: Prosperity: The Solution to Global Warming?
(A populist capitalist blog) Intuitively, many people feel that for the environment, simpler is better. And from there it is a relatively short leap to…
Book Smarts vs. Street Smarts: “Rethinking the MBA”
“Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a Crossroads” (by Srikant M. Datar, David A. Garvin, and Patrick Cullen; Harvard Business Press) is an examination of…
The Joys of Simplicity
Effectively thinking outside the box requires a deep knowledge of the key elements of a system along with the raw courage to eliminate the superfluous…
Good Intentions Are Not Enough
We have good hearts and we want to help. Unfortunately, at times our attempts to help, our interventions, can be ineffective and even backfire. Situations…
The System Secret
I’ve long believed that a certain system —which almost any intelligent person can learn— works way better than the systems most people use [to understand…
“I intend to” vs “Immediate I have”: Empowerment and win-win performance agreements
Empowerment has been globally defined as “the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into…
What is a leader? How do you identify them? Are they made? Can they be made?
In its simplest definition, a leader is anyone with followers. But how do you get followers? Which takes us into the two basic different kinds…