Unfortunately, we’ve had a wonderful opportunity to see human behavior at its worst this weekend. There’s no denying that any rational, emotionally feeling human won’t be repulsed by the events that occurred in Charlottesville with the deliberate murder and attacks on people doing what they are guaranteed the right […]
Over the past five years, my business partner and I have written more than 300 blog posts – more than one a week. Usually we would post a new entry on Tuesday while having a Throwback Thursday re-post. But we’ve recently skipped several weeks because our production system was […]
We’ve written about sexual harassment before – there’s no secret there. But I would like to examine the economic benefits and costs associated with harassment today. This examination is prompted by Bill O’Reilly’s firing by Fox after it was revealed that five women had been paid $13.5 million to […]
I’ve spent a lot of time in waiting rooms – especially since my wife had her stroke. And while waiting rooms, particularly doctors’ waiting rooms, are not the most fun atmosphere, I find waiting rooms very useful because I’m always prepared.
How do you prepare for a waiting room?
I prepare […]
Because I’ve spent a lot of time in the Washington, DC area working in and for the federal government, I’ve been asked frequently about recent news reports coming from the national capital. Most of the questions are of the type, “Can the President/FBI/CIA/NSA/etc. really do ___________________ and keep it […]
I generally encourage people to lower their voices and think before they speak – perhaps to not speak at all – it makes for more reasoned communication. But there is one area that I personally violate that rule – when things go wrong. And when things go wrong, I […]
Two things happened that involved me within the last 24 hours that concern audits: I completed an audit of an organization and I read a column in the SpokesmanReview about audits in Medicare.
I’ve been doing audits, and their cousin, inspections, for more than 30 years. I remember what it […]
I’m a big fan of customer surveys. Not of giving them because mostly the results are skewed by the apostles and terrorists – I’ll explain later. I’m a big fan of filling out the surveys for several reasons.
First of all, so few people actually fill out the surveys at […]
Last week I wrote about the need to look ahead. Today, I thought I would amplify my thoughts considering recent news reports without mentioning the specific actions but looking at the difference between tactical thinking and strategic thinking.
Tactical thinking is focused on the here and now or what’s close. […]
My wife and I go through a ritual most days – I’ll ask her sometime in the morning or early afternoon if she has given any thought to what to have for dinner and does she want me to get something out of the freezer? Invariably, she’ll say no, […]
I’ve been an adjunct professor for most of this century, teaching graduate students quality and operations management as well as entrepreneurship. Now, mind you, these were GRADUATE students. For the most part, they had experience in the workplace after college.
And yet, they weren’t professionals. By that, I mean they […]
When I was supporting the Air Force in Washington, DC, I quickly learned a phrase that I hadn’t heard before but it represented a concept I was very familiar with – Completed Staff Work. Completed Staff Work meant that you did everything so the only thing a colonel or […]
There was a saying that was used when I was in the Navy, particularly among the nuclear navy personnel, that emphasized doing a job well without going overboard, “Close enough for government work.” The saying originated from federal contractors being able to sell the government shoddy material because inspectors […]
Have you written your 2017 resolutions yet? If you have, then you’ve surely made them SMART, haven’t you?
SMART is the acronym for
Specific
Measurable
Actionable
Relevant
Time-based
SMART is the basis for supposedly good goals because it keep you from creating pie-in-the-sky goals that have little basis in real life.
But I have a problem with […]
It’s the end of the year and it’s a common feeling to feel that the year wasn’t a good one – we didn’t accomplish much – we’re no better off than we were at the beginning of the year. It isn’t true but the little devil sitting on our […]
“Oh! captive, bound, and double-ironed,” cried the phantom, “not to know, that ages of incessant labour, by immortal creatures, for this earth must pass into eternity before the good of which it is susceptible is all developed. Not to know that any Christian spirit working kindly in its little […]
December 7, 2016 is the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on the Hawaiian Islands. There are newspaper inserts and TV specials as well as countless articles and speeches retelling the stories and pointing out the lessons that were learned. Usually, the lessons can be summed up as “we […]
In September 1982, the world was shocked at the cyanide deaths of seven people in the Chicago area. It was soon followed with the discovery that Tylenol was the common link. Johnson & Johnson mounted a total recall of Tylenol, halted production and distribution of the product and broadcast […]
The artist Picasso once said – “Good artists imitate, great artists steal.” It’s a statement I’ve repeated many times to clients and others because it illustrates an important concept of where we get ideas. After all, “There’s nothing new since the Greeks” is a very old proverb.
Of course, there […]
I’ve been reevaluating the activities I have been performing in light of my wife’s stroke. It’s been just over two months since she woke up and saw two ceiling fans – we have only one in our bedroom. Fortunately, it was a small stroke and she’s expected to make […]
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