When Should Your Team Receive Performance Reviews?
As a corporate associate for over 20 years, I immediately associate December with performance reviews. It's the time of year when I sit down and think about all of the things I said I would accomplish... and write a long diatribe about how great I did against the...
Preparing for Greatness No Matter Your Circumstances
Have you ever seen a picture of a flower that had the audacity to bloom in between the cracks on a sidewalk? It was not supposed to do that. Many flowers require a certain pot, paired with the right soil, adequate lighting, and an appropriate amount of water. But for...
Which of the Lean Wastes Cause You The Most Pain
In the world of Lean Six Sigma, we aim to remove wastes from processes. Wastes are considered any action or step that does not add value to the customer. In other words, waste is any process that the customer does not want to pay for. For example, what if your...
Why Customers Crave Consistency
Everybody craves consistency. Sure, we like to be wowed and surprised periodically. But we don't want to be underwhelmed. One of my favorite things to do as a lover of food is to try new restaurants. I have my own proprietary algorithm for determining where to dine...
Quickly Setting up a Temporary Resource to be Impactful
We have all been in a place where we need help quickly. We ask and plead for permission for a new resource. And finally, we get permission to get an additional resource. Voila – Mr. or Mrs. “Awesome Temp” shows up and they are ready. But as ready as you thought you...
5 Ways to Deal with Conflict in Work Relationships
Have you ever found yourself in the midst of an uncomfortable situation at work? Maybe a coworker didn’t complete a project on time. Or maybe someone used one of your ideas and passed it off as their own. Whatever the situation, work conflicts happen. As much as we...
Onboarding & Offboarding
Whenever I would start a new role, my husband's guidance would be: “Start how you plan to finish.” He knew my tendencies to start something full-court press (or giving it 110%) and then wonder why people were surprised six months in when I decided to leave the office...
Why You Should Stick to the Basics and Forget the Complex
You probably already know way more than you need to know to make some big improvements in your life. Mastering the basics is all you probably need to greatly enhance your health, fitness, relationships, finances, and career. Few people really need to move beyond the...
Defining Your Success Muscle
I am consistently on a journey to get in better shape physically. I didn't participate in sports as a young person; athleticism does not come naturally to me. Until my early 20s, my main fitness goal was to have enough stamina to stay on the dance floor! In the past 4...