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Want a great culture? Focus on these three things

The culture of your organization will either ensure your long term success or potentially leave your organization vulnerable to external threats. An effective culture leads to innovation, agility, great customer service, higher profit margins and high employee engagement. A weak …

Faults of a few create punishment for all

Have you ever thought about how many of your policies and procedures exist because a few people broke the rules? In a similar way we all have to endure travel headaches because of the actions of a few individuals. Some …

What is your leadership legacy?

After a number of years of being a manager, supervisor or team leader it can feel as though you have ‘been there and done that.’ With fewer opportunities for promotion, how can you re-energize your enthusiasm for your leadership role? …

Success disguised

Your greatest success might be disguised. That was the case for William Wrigley, Jr. You recognize the name from Wrigley chewing gum. What you might not have known is that Wrigley started out as a soap company,  using chewing gum …

Knowledge Hostage: Should organizations be held hostage by experienced staff?

Is  it really worth it to bend over backwards to accommodate an employee who has a ton of knowledge and experience but brings little else to the organization? Over the years I have seen companies label individuals as “untouchable” because …

Leadership – The Missing Ingredient Needed in Process Improvement

Why is it that most process improvement initiatives never quite pan out as advertised? Whether it is Lean, Six Sigma, Continuous Improvement, ISO/TS 9000 – the end results often fall far short of the promise and potential.   There is …

Employee Retention: Give them a reason to stay

It was an exciting week last week – our book Employees Not Doing What You Expect rose to number two on the Globe and Mail Business Bestseller List. Irwin Schinkel and I are putting the finishing touches on our next …

How Ego Blocks Engagement

Having just wrapped up two more Front Line Leadership programs, it never ceases to amaze me the amount of potential in the leaders taking the course. One of the requirements of graduation is for each participant to document how they …

Modelling the McJob: Why Managing Like McDonalds Might Be Good For Employees

Last Wednesday (May 5th) was McHappy Day at McDonalds Canadian operations. It is a big fundraiser for Ronald McDonald Houses across Canada. I had the priviledge of working as a volunteer that day for the fifth time.   I’m guessing …

Corporate Quicksand – How to Engage Passive Employees

As a leader, you are measured on results and those results depend on people taking action.   A common frustration is how to get the rest of the organization to buy into ideas more quickly and move forward. It turns …