Scott Adams’s comic strip Dilbert was immediately popular because managers, supervisors, and workers all laughed at what’s happened in the workplace. The game rules changed overnight. What were some of the old rules? Loyalty up led to loyalty down the organization. Good supervisors managed, organized, controlled, and directed subordinate’s activities. There were lots of these …
“The average graduate from high school or college will have 13 different employers during their working life.”[i] In 2016 the number of jobs we’re told may reach 20 or more. [i] Birch, David, “Thinking About Tomorrow,” Wall Street Journal, May 24 1999, p. R30.
Brand U work is not only a way to put a roof over our heads and food onto the table but also: Provides income. Income is a major reason for working. Provides a sense of worth. Many identify who we are by what we do. I am a customer service representative, lawyer, engineer, and so …
Times change and we change. Latin Proverb We work for many reasons, including creativity, freedom, and income. Critial questions are: Do you work to live or live to work’? ‘ Do you do work that really matters’? ‘ Are you having fun yet?’
Switzerland totally dominated the watchmaking world over the past century. The Swiss made the highest quality watches in the world. They didn’t rest on their laurels. They practiced innovation. They were constantly improving their watch making skills. They invented the minute and second hands. They developed new methods for producing gears, bearings, and mainsprings of …
Competition, as a creative destroyer, results in nimble, dynamic organizations. They must adapt and prosper or they soon die. All companies have a lifecycle. Companies are conceived, prosper and die. The numbers are stunning. The life expectancy of a typical multinational is between 40 to 50 years. This means that one-third of the companies in …
Inconsistent product quality Slow response to the marketplace Lack of innovative, competitive products Uncompetitive cost structure Inadequate employee involvement Unresponsive customer service Inefficient resource allocation[i] [i] Pearson, Andrall E., “Corporate Redemption and the Seven Deadly Sins,” Harvard Business Review, May/Jun, 1992, p: 65‑75.
A paradigm shift is a sudden and dramatic change in game rules. Paradigm shifts can be monumental or small. Usually, small shifts serve as a precursor to larger changes. What was right before may now be wrong. What was the pathway to success may no longer be the case. Law may now expressly forbid what …
Don’t play by the dominant competitive rules of your industry Get innovative or get dead Reexamine a company’s hidden strategic assets, then leverage the hell out of them Create a bias for speed and action Be proactive and experimental Break down barriers Use all people’s skills all the time Globalize the company’s perspective and …
Work is often described in terms of a set of changing rules, boundary conditions, tools, and expectations: Set of rules. Most written and implicit work rules have changed in the last twenty years. Some of this is due to federal and state regulations mandating equal opportunity and protection. Boundary conditions. Until a few years ago, …