Featured Articles
Sometimes improvements to workflow come from unexpected places. The challenge is recognizing and seizing the opportunity. Read the case study “Training Wheels to SOP”:
The team at XYZ Industries ran a fairly efficient warehouse floor, often processing as many as 60 orders per day. When new people were hired for a seasonal rush, the floor manager put together a simple paper artifact to facilitate training. That temporary fix became a major boon to productivity and was adopted as SOP—Standard Operating Procedure. Read on »
New clients and members are often introduced to an organization at an event. However, a frustration-free registration is often A Privilege of Membership:
When she arrived, the event organizers seemed confused and unprepared. Most attendees were already members and had registered in advance. These other participants were quickly ushered inside. Polly, however, was passed between volunteers and repeatedly deferred. Eventually, she received an extensive printed application. She was asked to complete the forms by hand prior to being granted access. Read on »
Work requires competence, but what happens when you spend almost all your time doing something outside your field of expertise? Check out the story of Mark, The Erstwhile System Administrator:
In the final semester in the esteemed business school at a major university, Mark was required to complete an internship with a local company. He had spent four years studying sales and marketing and was excited to pursue a true corporate opportunity. But the first day on the job, he made what he later called “the biggest mistake of his career.” Mark offered to try and fix a malfunctioning computer. Read on »
In “Choosing Tactics or Strategy”, company founder Robby Slaughter reviews the classic conundrum between grand ideas and minuscule tasks:
We often find ourselves engaged in conversations about levels of thinking. Coworkers quiz us about the “big picture.” Bosses employ words like “vision” and “mission.” We complain when others cannot “see the forest through the trees”, yet insist that every job applicant be “detail-oriented.” Executives sometimes have their “head in the clouds,” others spend too much time “micromanaging.” What is more important, strategy or tactics? Read on »
Ashley Lee explains why the phrase “That’s not my job” may not be an act of career-killing stupidity, but one of fearless commitment to the organization.
The workplace is no place for controversial statements. What we say at the office can be an occupational hazard. If our words are too divisive, too blunt, or taboo, we believe they may threaten our career advancement. So what is the worst sentence you could utter at work, short of insulting your supervisor’s new hairdo? Try responding to a new assignment by saying no. Read on »
In The Unexpected Patron, a routine trip to the local Chinese eatery turns into 30 seconds of chaos.
Recently, we headed to the local buffet for a stomach-stuffing, diet-busting meal of fried rice and egg drop soup. Soft lights and velvety carpets soothed our spirits as we sipped on hot tea. A few plates into our meal, at the precise moment I was swirling a pot sticker into a pool of soy sauce, a commotion overcame the darkened dining room. Dashing between the tables was a rather unexpected patron: a giant, panicked, smooth-coated hound. A 100lb dog was loose in the Chinese restaurant. Read on »
