Discovering the Inner MertonLean’s surprising connections with Buddhism and Christianity
Tue, 11/10/2015 - 16:58
“If you are too obsessed with success, you will forget to live. If you have learned only how to be a success, your life has probably been wasted.” —Thomas Merton, Love and Living
Sometimes there are dots just waiting to be connected....
I was… Discovering the Value of PeopleIt takes a strong manager to overrule the balance sheet and invest in employees
Tue, 10/20/2015 - 17:25
Big news in the business world: Walmart is famous for keeping costs down, including employee-related costs. In Joplin, Missouri, the company is testing a new approach: investing in workers through higher wages and training, on the theory that this… Owning Numerical IgnoranceImprovements are impossible unless learning and understanding come first
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 12:46
Awhile ago I discussed the value created by writing by hand. By writing on whiteboards or scribbling in a notebook, ownership, learning, and understanding is created. Similarly, truly understanding numbers creates ownership, learning, and… The Cure for Confirmation Bias Abroad or at WorkObserve, ask questions, and challenge the single point of view
Mon, 05/18/2015 - 14:34
I recently came across the TED Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie where she discusses the “danger of a single story.” From growing up as a kid in Nigeria to studying in the United States into adulthood, she describes how she and others, having only… Risk Creates EngagementAnd engagement creates understanding
Tue, 03/03/2015 - 16:16
Humans tend to abhor chaos, and love to invoke rules to supposedly create order. We like rules because they make us feel protected, aligned, and perhaps operating on a fair playing field.
At the same time, we dislike rules because they can protect… The Mindful OhnoBe present at work to understand what’s truly important
Thu, 01/22/2015 - 13:00
Mindfulness has become all the rage in personal and professional leadership these days, which is good and bad. Understood and done right, it’s a powerful concept. As with most concepts, however, it’s also often misunderstood, and therefore… Reflecting on the Intentional RoutineEven Ben Franklin had a leader standard work sheet
Wed, 01/07/2015 - 11:13
My November 2014 post, which I titled “Gratitude, for Gratitude,” generated a large number of responses. Interestingly, most were private, commenting on both the nature of gratitude but especially on my daily routine. I had detailed my regular set… From Batch to One-Piece FlowAirbnb and Uber exemplify micro capacity-and-demand utilization
Mon, 11/24/2014 - 14:59
Two of the more interesting Internet-driven companies these days are Airbnb and Uber. They call themselves part of the “sharing economy.” But let’s take a look at the word “share.” From the MacMillan dictionary, share is “to allow someone to have… On Asiana, Driverless Cars, and FactoriesIs technology weakening our basic skills?
Thu, 07/03/2014 - 12:23
I’ve always been interested in technology—its uses, advantages, and disadvantages. Regular readers know that I often advocate for manual solutions first, like whiteboards to run factories and a handwritten notebook for notes.
Some believe that I’m… Big Data, Meet Small Data The real revolution isn’t big data, but the increased accessibility to small data
Mon, 06/02/2014 - 13:24
I’ve been following the panting exuberance of big data apostles for the past few years, rolling my eyes at most of it. Sure, it can be interesting, but maybe my age is showing when I say, “So what?” to most of it.
What finally pushed me over the…
