Leadership & Purpose

Jim Womack, author of Lean Thinking made some insightful comments about structure and purpose in his April 2009 newsletter. He said,

“One of my favorite questions when meeting with senior leaders of enterprises is, ‘What is your organization's purpose?’ The typical and immediate response is, ‘To make money and grow.’ ‘But,’ I respond, ‘this answer has nothing to do with your customers, who provide the money your organization needs to profit and grow.’ I then repeat my question, but elaborate, 'What does your organization do to solve customer problems better than competitors so that customers old and new will pay good money for your services and goods and buy more over time?'

“In recent years a fashionable alternative to

Leadership

Customer Focused

Jeffrey Gitomer hits a big bulls eye on how to deal with the economy. This brings the issue down to each one of our levels.

“The economy is falling. The economy is falling.

Leadership

Leadership & Economy

One popular industry trade magazine recently carried an article telling contractors that to survive the current economy downturn they should “Cut everything to the bone.” That’s not real leadership. Any butcher can cut and trim. A high-performing contractor seeks more effective means to address the challenging economy. Let’s carry the analogy out – if an individual is overweight and unable to compete in a race - does it make sense to amputate an arm or a leg or cut off muscle to the bone to better run the race? The thought makes us shudder and would make the athlete very challenged to compete. It would take much rehabilitation to even come close to being able to run again.

If it doesn’t work for athletes why do some think it would for a company? Just like people, companies sometimes

Leadership

How to lead weekly staff meetings

Meetings Bloody Meetings is the name of a very funny training video on how to better manage meetings. The title probably describes how many feel about meetings. They are usually boring, poorly organized and at best only half as useful as the time it takes. Every company holds

High-Performing Contractor - NEWSLETTER

June, 2008

This e-newsletter is dedicated to supporting High-Performing Contractors and all contractors working to become one. Edited by Dennis Sowards

Leadership

George Hedley is a contractor with some great thoughts on Leadership:



“Think of great companies, large and small. Excellent companies are lead by a leader who takes and makes time to be the leader instead of a doer. He or she is the seller of the vision and what the company offers to its' employees and customers. Examples of this leadership style are evident at Microsoft, Dell or GE. When you get your company organized, systemized and making a profit, it's a lot of fun to be the owner. You work on exciting things, new opportunities and what really makes a difference. When you spend time doing all the work instead of leading, your company remains stuck at a level based on how much work you can do and control.

The Three "Ds" of Customer Focus