post it note "make a good first impression"

Your mother and your career coach probably told you at some point that “First impressions last.” And you know why they both told you that? Because it’s true. For better or worse, like it or not, people’s first impressions of anything—an individual, a store, a brand of shoes—completely shape and color their perception of it…

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meeting of four people with crumbled up balls of paper in the middle of the table

(Second in a random series on Business Time Wasters) If email is the great curse over the workplace, (and it is, trust me), then without a doubt, meetings are a spell that’s been cast over offices to suck the life energy out of employees and management alike while making us all think that issues are…

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clock in a trashcan full of crumpled papers

(First in a random series on Business Time Wasters) Email.  If there was any greater curse ever cast over the workplace, I can’t think of one. Sure, it facilitates communication. And none of us can even imagine anymore how we could function in a business environment without the ability to dash off a quick note…

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two cocktails on a bar

Some of you got excited when you saw cocktail in the title above, didn’t you? You figured, “Finally, somebody agrees with me—a little liquid social lubricant can go a long way to getting people to loosen up and talk…”  Slow down there, Norm. We’re not heading for Cheers. That’s a different conversation.  But I’ll give you this much:…

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door with title Complaints Dept.

When your employees voice a problem, split off the complainer from the complaint to get at the real issue (For my previous thoughts on workplace problems and a drama-free workplace, see People are the Problem and Solve it with Structure.) We live in an age of outrage. Whatever it is—jobs, schools, restaurants, auto repair, retail…

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lady in front of a chalkboard with lines drawn in every which direction - resembles how she cant make up her mind and make a decision

Are big decisions keeping you up at night? Is fretting over the benefits and risks ahead of you taking up your time for work and rest? Are you losing sleep trying to decide which path will bring you to success and which one will lead to ruin? Stop it. “I want to stop it,” you…

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Layers that Build Success Now, let’s take a look now at how the ACMP Standard actually fits into the layers. As I mentioned, the ACMP Standard has a layered structure. Starting at the highest conceptual level, it details the change process all the way down to day-to day tactical steps for implementation—which all map out…

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Layers of Change Lately, in the change management initiatives I’ve worked on, I’ve noticed more and more leaders who feel anguished and anxious because they believe they should be at a certain point in the change process—a point they still haven’t reached yet. So I’ve found myself more and more having to explain that the…

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First off, let’s get one idea clear: Your organization needs documentation – even if you’re using Agile Methodology for your development. It’s a fallacy that using Agile means you don’t write documentation. Agile seeks to minimize waste, yes. But it’s misguided to eliminate documentation altogether. Rather, you should be creating records of what you’ve done—decisions…

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