In most organizations there is a hierarchy of management. Performance of the entire organization is directly correlated to the effectiveness of this hierarchy in leading, making decisions, distributing work, and solving complex problems. In our organization management distributes performance based bonuses, adjusts salaries and promotes people to new responsibilities yearly. This year the process has been different from prior years because of different management.
Let us assume Jane the director is responsible for two managers Bob and Joe who in turn are responsible for ten employees each. Mary the top performing …

As I perused my journals from the past, another theme emerged. It was obvious that I was going through an intense emotional struggle in my first couple years adjusting to my new environment. Sometimes when the times seem difficult, people seem cruel, and the environment seems unbearable, you must remind yourself a few thoughts:

These times do not last forever.
They are not as bad as it may seem.
Many people around you care about you and are ready to help.
Someone next to you has it harder.
You can handle far more difficult challenges.
You …

I spend most of my time working which for me involves dealing with people and machines all day. The machines are easy, predictable, and obedient creations that do exactly what they are told. People are often quite the opposite. In People, Relationships, and Trust I already wrote about trust which is just as critical in the workplace. Here are a few further thoughts on people that we meet at work.
I have worked with a few hundred people over my working career so far. Over the years, these relationships and actually …

Around eight years ago when we were in St. Thomas on vacation, I wrote down the following values. I had just finished a book about Benjamin Franklin and felt it was important to have my own values down on paper just as he had his. They are as relevant today as they were then. I would add a few more sentences now but we’ll leave that for another post.
Family & Love
Love your family, friends, neighbors, & others. Build trust & spend time with your family. Love thy neighbor. A strong …

We all have wishes and dreams but how does one go from a thought to an accomplishment? I always struggle with achievements because after I accomplish something, I end up feeling an enormous vacuum, a terrible feeling caused from lack of other dreams or goals. To combat this, I always have multiple major projects so completion of one does not create the vacuum I mention. If you struggle to see your dreams come true, here’s the simple formula: complete one task (however minor it may be) every day toward your …