You’ve probably seen the headlines over the last few weeks about how Chipotle closed all locations for a company-wide meeting on food safety. The news articles range from mildly noteworthy to shocked predictions of the certain doom of the restaurant chain. When I heard about Chipotle’s plan, I was reminded of another well-known company that…
I’ve found that bold leaders are drawn to organizations under some kind of negative or positive stress. Jodi Prohofsky was drawn to a company grappling with both, simultaneously. Jodi’s team, responsible for billions in provider and supplier contracts, is part of a massive effort at WalMart to make healthcare more accessible and affordable. Imagine: the…
Like the old cliché “If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know if you get there?” there is a benefit for everyone in your organization to have a clear, unclouded vision of the point on the horizon to which you are aiming. In the cliché the risk is overshooting the target….
“Hello. My name is Ryan and I’m an efficiency addict.” This is what I would say if there was an Efficiency Anonymous group. I’m a fan of Franklin Covey. I love Microsoft Excel. And yes, I’m an achiever in my Strengthsfinder results. I love getting things completed in the shortest amount of time with the…
Understand your mission? Check. Create a vision through strategic thinking? Check. Get organizational alignment and superior execution? Not so fast.
You’re doing the right things. You’ve chosen your target customers wisely and found a set of needs you can solve for them better than anyone else can. People and teams across your organization are doing their best to make daily decisions that meet or exceed the requirements your customers value most. And you’re constantly re-evaluating…
When you meet John Dunlap, director at the San Diego Zoo, it is clear he is a very organized thinker and action-oriented guy. Zoo staff members say that on any given day you can find John out front at the Zoo, meeting people, engaging with visitors and demonstrating the experience he works so hard to…
Sparboe Farms: Bob Sparboe started the Sparboe Chick Company after returning from service in the Korean War, distributing day-old chicks to farmers in Central Minnesota. Today, after more than 55 years in the business, Sparboe Farms is the fifth largest egg producer in the country serving retail, wholesale, and food service customers in 26 states.
“Do you trust me?” This can be an emotionally charged question, yet it can be a tremendously constructive one, too. In our work we have found that getting clarity on the reasons why you do (or don’t) trust someone is just as important as the answer itself.
Linda, Chris and I have just returned from an always-full, dynamic annual summit for the Women Business Leaders of the US Health Care Industry Foundation — or WBL, as its associates love to call it. In a session called “Leading Change that’s Worth It,” we had the privilege of facilitating this amazing group of executives…
