Many organizations believe that the most effective way to run an organization is to construct the flow of information from the top down. This leads to an environment of silos. The problem is that silo is not the way the processes flow. They are constructed in a chain with each link of the chain feeding the next one.

All processes begin with the creator of the component of the end product or service which when combined with other components result in the product or service which you…

The goal of all teams is to resolve a problem. That goal is achieved when we learn to think out of the box. When we think about the eulogy at Robert Kennedy's funeral. He said, "some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not."

Your organization is presented with a problem, large or small, that is threatening to disrupt your process flow and the needs of your customer so how do you select the route forward/

First, after selecting the makeup of the cross-functional team members you need to review where you stand as an organization. Your empowered management has…

When we look at a problem. reality is not our companion. We tend to look at things in the way that creates the solutions to our problems in the easiest way. We are biased towards looking at the way to resolve the problem that entails the least amount of effort.

But that is not how the world necessarily operates in reality. Reality lays out the problem and its conditions and expects us to find the best path to resolve the issue. That is what happens when we see the…

In our book Reality, Perception and Your Workplace Culture I discussed the two views of the world that organizations have regarding problems. They either see them from looking in the mirror or looking out the window. They either see problems how they see the problems, or they see them as their customers see the problems.

I recently finished reding the Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power who quotes economist Albert Hirchman who suggests a different approach. He suggests…

Normally on Wednesday 's blog post we present issues surrounding process improvement, however I saw this post from the Harvard Business Review and thought it was appropriate for the times we are facing.

When trying to address racial disparities, managers often focus on recruiting and hiring. But if you want to create a truly diverse,…

Have you every traveled to Montreal or gone into the ethnic sections of some of our bigger cities? What was the problem that you encountered? The chances are you encountered conversations, which you could not comprehend what was going on. For all you know they could be saying adverse things about you or your organization and you would not have a clue as to what they were saying. This is equally true regarding our workplaces.

 Actively listen to your organization and it is likely you…

On July 1, Productivity Press will be releasing our new book on Employee Empowerment.

One of the major discussions in the business world is: How do we get our human capital assets more engaged in the organization? Current Gallup Polls state that 85% of our employees are not engaged within their organizations.

Employee Empowerment is not some wild idea. Employee Empowerment takes a concerted effort on the part of the entire organization. The TLS Continuum Empowerment Model…

Cross Functional Teams are the basis of our process improvement efforts in any organization. Because of that it is critical that members of the team be comprised of those who are working to solve our organizational issues be there because they really want to resolve the issues.

What the team does not need is team members who are there in body only. Team members must be actively involved in the problem solving effort. This means that they need to listen to the vies and…

Sustainable change management only occurs when you have an empowered organization. An empowered organization occurs when you have an empowered and engaged human capital assets. To carry the thought forward, if you have engaged and empowered human capital assets they will carry that sense to their cross-functional team roles.

An empowered team seeking organizational teams must ensure that they are encompassing three factors - diversity of ideas and makeup, utilization of new tools, and…

The source for many of my posts over the years has been the local churches announcing their upcoming sermons for the Sunday services and this one is no different. Originally I thought about this in a different context but the events of the past week have changed my focus.

We are involved in an ever-changing world and these changes require that we change our focus and approaches in order to successfully deal with those changes.  They require us to change our corporate…

We are in a new normal if you will and it began before the CoVid-19 shutdown. The role of the manager has changed to this new normal. The role of upper management has changed in this new normal

The efforts to bring quality improvement to your organization is a top down and bottom up effort. It means that management can not rule by edict. You want quality in your organization? Don't gain that state by saying here is quality now do it. You need to establish what quality means to your…

I am currently experiencing the thrills of having a 4 year old old grandson running around the house. This is an experience, which I have not had to deal with in over forty years since my sons were born. But the events of this past week make me stop and wonder what type of organizations or society are we leaving for him, as he grows older?

In working with clients I advocate that in order for continuous process improvement efforts to be successful, your organization needs to become one…

If you hire based on “just like me” you lose the diversity of ideas necessary to improve your organization. #TLSContinuum

Think about your last hire before this CoVid-19 crisis? How did you decide which candidate to hire? Research has shown that we tend to settle on those who most resemble us- in looks,, in thoughts and beliefs. But you do your organization a disservice…

The other day I was watching the news and there were a number of stories about the protests to the stay-at-home orders across the country. In listening to their views I clearly heard a real time example of the windows versus the mirror syndrome. I clearly heard people who cold not or did not want to see the bigger picture if you will. They were more willing to view the world from a mirror perspective. They were more than willing to view the world not as it is but as they saw it.…

Process Improvement equals Collaboration not rule by Bully manager

We are in challenging times, We are in an age of volatility, uncertainty, chaos, and ambiguity. This is not the time for the managers who believe that his/her role is one of this is what I want done, this is when I want it done and this is how I want it…

While recently looking at some of the available human resource positions, across the country, we came across an ad that was seeking a hands-on HR professional.

This is fine but it was the punch line that really caught my eye. In the job requirements, this organization specifically stated that it did not want an HR strategist.

So my…