Posts Tagged ‘lessons learned’
Tough Talks With Employees: Question Your Way to Resolution. (The Worksheet)
Last week we agreed that your relationship with an employee is give & take: They contribute skill, talent, and motivation. You contribute structure, direction, and resources. But things still happen. Even great employees sometimes make mistakes. Especially if you encourage innovation and creativity at work, which you should. What now? The tough conversations At first…
Read MoreHow to write goals that matter… and that work (3/5) 👆
Last week you worked on the three questions you have to answer to write proper annual goals. But our work here is not done yet. Answering the questions is half the exercise. Now we have to structure those answers so they become more than ideas and hopes. They have to make a plan. Goals that…
Read More3 simple questions to write your best annual goals (2/5) ☝️
What if I told you 90% of senior executives don’t reach their strategic goals annually? That’s what research from The Economist Intelligence Unit has shown. They say it’s because of flawed implementation. But it’s hard to do good work on a goal if the goal is wrong to begin with. Much too often I see…
Read More5 Easy Peasy Ways to Let Your Clients Teach You Something New ↔️ (3/6)
There is another important way to keep your business innovative. It is a single, simple thing to keep in mind. And it is not about you at all. It is: always be looking for ways to make your clients’ lives easier. Simple, yes, but not always easy. Here are a few tricks you can use…
Read MoreFinding the Force: Continuous Improvement and Meeting Goals 🆕 (1/6)
A critical part of business planning is preparing for things to change. The better you can control that change, the easier it will be. How do you control change? Use a mission statement. It’s easy to innovate with a great mission statement. Stay on mission A good mission statement guides your employees. It guides their…
Read MoreCelebrate success: measure, plan, recognize good work 🍾 (6/6)
Don’t forget this step, in any part of your business. A powerful way to ensure more good work is to recognize what’s working, celebrate good results, and give the team the spotlight. Make sure everyone in the business knows when good work is happening. Measure customer satisfaction First and foremost. It is up to your…
Read MoreThe historical lens of lessons learned
One of the challenges of studying history, classics, and the past, is knowing how to read stories through the right lens: is it ours, or is it the lens of the time? Do you know how this comes up in business? In your Lessons Learned. Lessons Learned After a major project or process update, you…
Read MoreThe best lessons are the ones we learn
There’s nothing wrong with things going wrong in business. Do you remember Apple’s first hand-held device, the Newton? No? That’s ok, neither does anybody else. Managerially the company did everything right and yet the product was a huge flop. But the brand didn’t disappear, and 13 years later they launched the iPhone, which quickly set…
Read MoreStop trying to stop making mistakes
Mistakes should never be your primary goal. If you know that something is the wrong thing to do, don’t do it. You don’t have to chase mistakes because they’ll happen anyway, regardless of your planning and precision. When we don’t make mistakes, we get to do things right. When we do make mistakes, we get…
Read MoreInnovation happens when you think inside the box: start with the everyday
Innovation happens when you are good at something you do… and then you do it a little bit better. Innovation matters because it ensures that you are always doing things in the best possible way. “Innovation is about tweaking systems that are already faring well”, according to Business News Daily. It’s the little changes you…
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