Culture

The term “psychological safety” is having a moment. While on the surface it may seem like yet another organizational buzzword, this one has true merit, especially in safety. The term was coined by…

The pandemic created a lot of divisions between people. At many organizations one such division is between those who had to continue to go to the workplace and those who were able to work from home.…

Recently during a leadership workshop I was facilitating, a participant approached me at a break and told me he wanted more out of his direct reports. He wanted to know why his current approach was…

The signs of an impressive continuous improvement (CI) culture were plentiful. Walls of the common areas were adorned with A3 problem solving papers and visual management boards were scattered across…

Agile project management methodologies are no longer confined to software development or technology companies. As rapid innovation creates the need for increased adaptability, organizations have…

Five U.S. Senators wrote to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on March 3, 2021 to express their concerns about surveillance cameras with tracking software being installed in some delivery vans operated by…

In the book Measure of a Leader, the authors state, “The best predictors of leadership are found in the behaviors of the leader’s followers.” Measuring a leader by the success of the people he or she…

One of my favorite songs over the past several years is “The Rising” by Bruce Springsteen.  A song from the depths of despair that speaks of rebirth, resurrection, and forgiveness. During this time…

Culture and its impact on employees and organizational success cannot be overstated. The behavioral definition of culture is, patterns of behavior that are reinforced or punished by people and…

Once upon a time, organizations treated culture change like any number of other corporate initiatives:  There were project plans, timelines, communication strategies, and roll-outs.  Leaders were…

Do people change culture, or does culture change people? When I meet with a group of leaders, I often begin with this question. It’s a fun question for groups to wrestle with, and inevitably, they…

Recent events on the football field have reminded me of a story told to me by my former business partner,  Fran Tarkenton. Fran, then Quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings,  was heading out for a new…

The following is a copy of an actual letter sent by Sam Walton of Wal-Mart to his managers. It was sent to me by an impassioned client who wanted to thank us for bringing the science of behavior into…

A steady stream of headlines brings near-constant reports on banks running afoul of laws and regulations. Recent evidence includes the mortgage-securities settlements of Bank of America and Citigroup…

It’s no secret: Many successful businesses are slow to change. There are hundreds of examples in which corporations have rejected ideas and products that have been left to entrepreneurs to make…

We may be at a tipping point.  It just might be that we have hit the limit on how much we can do on any given day, week or month.  Most of us have more work on our to-do lists than we can ever do. …

It’s generally agreed that persuading employees to give more than required can make or break a company. Yet many leaders struggle to get that discretionary effort. The 2013 State of the American…

One issue has been largely overlooked in the discussions about women in leadership: Do the traits of one gender have an advantage over the other in the boardroom? Direct and self-promotional…