The purpose of forming an organization is to create a place where individuals can produce collectively what they cannot do alone. And, in a positive environment, they can achieve great things when they agree to join forces. Unfortunately, this isn’t happening; at least, not to the extent that it needs to for America to remain […]

Succession planning is a future-focused endeavor designed to ensure knowledge upgrades become an instinctive part of everyone’s positional responsibility. Another proviso is providing training and development support for those who are candidates for increased responsibilities. As an organization considers succession planning, it is essential to form a Succession Planning Team (SPT) consisting of training and […]

An important thing to consider is how much initiative employees in a learning mode need to show. Once the levels have been discussed, the employees will be in a better position to select a level that is most comfortable for them and most productive for their employer. Level 1: Wait for direction – Expecting someone […]

While recruitment and retention continue to be worrisome management issues, wage and benefit equity is rapidly becoming a critical factor. Unfortunately, in an over heated rush to act decisively, managers may shift into survival mode without giving much thought to the long-term consequences of a short-term financial fix. The following examples illustrate my point. Manufacturer […]

Watch closely next time a change is announced and you’ll notice that people react in three different ways. The proactive type view change as an opportunity to try news things and make needed improvements. They value innovation and respond positively to difficult situations, collective concerns and personal challenges. Others are reactive and immediately start working […]

Trying to manage people in a hostile workplace is best done incrementally—one person at a time. Eventually, your followers will understand that taking responsibility for their own actions is not as scary as they thought. Once a subordinate understands that you are willing to overlook his mistakes so long as he claims responsibility for his […]

The life of any organization—its principles, ethics, style, values, and morality—is shaped by the interactions between labor and management. In analyzing what is likely to hamper these interactions, we can identify two sets of problems: one centered around management and the other on employees. Employee-centered problems Management-centered problems What we need is less soul selling […]