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Many organizations have formed teams dedicated to the work of Lean, Continuous Improvement, OpEx, or whatever other term you prefer. These teams range from large centralized teams to distributed resources, to sole individuals. Regardless of the size and structure of the team, goals likely have to be set. While one

“Follow your dreams” is a pretty superficial and unhelpful piece of advice. It’s what I call “bumper sticker philosophy.” It sounds great and people may even clap when you say it (it’s the most common piece of advice in commencement addresses), but it’s missing the needed nuance and structure to

What’s the best interview question you’ve ever received or given? Your list of bad interview questions is likely much longer than your list of great interview questions. I’ve heard some amazing horror stories about interviews derailed by terrible questions!  But still, there seems to be more advice available about responding

In my January 2025 newsletter, I highlighted the need for improving rapid, principle-based decision making. The reason principle-based decision making is important is that we can’t possibly anticipate, and therefore pre-reason, the decisions that we’ll have to make in the future. Faced with having to work at speed, without a

People approach solving problems differently, even if they’re using the same tools and methods. It’s one of the reasons for the name of my book, and one of the reasons I’m talking to people on the People Solve Problems podcast. Because problem solving is a collection of applied skills that

I recently attended the National Association of Corporate Directors Summit, which I’ve done several times since being appointed to my first board seat 15 years ago. The lineup was impressive, including Bill Gates, Wayne Peacock, CEO of USAA, James Gorman, longtime CEO of Morgan Stanley, Clare Martorana, Federal Chief Information

Conflict is everywhere. It’s not inherently a bad thing. When managed properly and worked through, it’s actually beneficial and productive. When left unchecked and left to fester, it is toxic and can destroy a relationship, team, or even an organization. There are many methods and strategies that are helpful in

Narrow Your Focus to Find Your Ideal Customer Every company, product manager, sales leader, and CEO should be thinking about their target market. Who would make their best customers? I believe that the parameters used to define target markets are too broad and vague and that efforts to significantly narrow

As AI continues to gain momentum within companies, it’s important to distinguish between two main categories of AI usage: stationed, strategic projects, and the personal, often hidden, use of AI by individuals in their workflows. One challenge in the latter category is that people are hiding the fact that they

Empathy is a popular concept these days, for many valid reasons. However, it is often conveyed as a sense of acceptance and sometimes even passiveness. What I mean is that empathy often means that you CAN’T understand someone’s perspective because it is different from yours and so therefore accept the