Action Insights

The Customer Isn’t Always Right

Leaders often approach problems with what I call a “bias for action.”  Rather than spend time analyzing the issue to find the true root cause, we hastily arrive at a solution.  Then we implement a fix based on assumptions or…Read More

The Power of Negative Thinking

A common life experience reveals how we frequently solve problems, and it’s incredibly ineffective.  We often implement solutions because they worked the last time, ignoring new data and contradictory evidence, and compound…Read More

Problem Solving with the Windows Down

As you enjoy the springtime ritual of driving with your windows down, consider how good problem solving starts in much the same way.  Don’t neglect the human element of problem solving and “keeping the windows down.”…Read More

Risky Business

In an effort to improve patient care and reduce harmful errors, the maximum shift length for medical interns was reduced from 30 hours to 16.  It seems like common sense.  However, studies showed the change did more harm than good… Read More

Don’t Ask the Wrong Question

Robert Nardelli was hired to run Home Depot.  He nearly doubled sales, cut costs,  increased efficiency and doubled profits.  Then, the board of directors released Nardelli.  Why?  He focused on the wrong question…Read More

Building Your Crisis Management Culture

How does your team respond to a crisis?  It’s important to recognize that managing people and processes in a crisis is basically the same as managing them under normal circumstances.  However, a crisis situation…Read More

Death by Meeting

The title of Patrick Lencioni’s book sums up how many people feel about meetings. People accept wasteful meetings as the reality of business today.  However, just a few simple questions can dramatically improve…Read More

Curing What Ails You

You know the feeling of helplessness when your child is sick.  You just want them to feel better.  Now, imagine a doctor came to you and proposed a cure that involved injecting your child with HIV!…Read More

Collect Information, Not Data

You can’t solve a problem without good quality information. If you recall the reports of unintended acceleration that Toyota experienced a few years ago, their best source of information was from a terrified driver…Read More

Risky Business

Terry Huckaby was an eyewitness to chaos this past weekend, seated eleven rows from the front stretch fence at Daytona Motor Speedway.  From his seat, he watched as Kyle Larson’s car went airborne…Read More

That ONE Thing

What is the one thing that, if it happened in this year, would make you feel like the year was very successful?  Whether you get there can be boiled down to just three principals…Read More

HR and Children of the Cobbler

The phrase “the cobbler’s children have no shoes”  speaks to the irony of how certain professions focus on other’s needs and ignore those situations closest to them. Are you giving attention to your future development?…Read More

Inexpensive Innovation

We all know it’s important to defer judgment when generating new ideas (i.e. brainstorming) however, many people ignore the benefit derived from focusing their idea generation into smaller categories.  By narrowing your focus…Read More

Measuring the Impact of Training

According to research, CEO’s want to see how their training organizations are helping drive the top business measures and the resulting return on investment but 90% of training organization are not providing this information. Don’t let…Read More

Caught in a Zombie / Decision Trap

My teenage son loves to play a popular video game where he can create hidden traps to catch friends and unsuspecting zombies!  These traps are  camouflaged as the traps we encounter every time we make a decision….Read More

Decisions Make the Difference

Success in business, and in life, is predicated on the quality of decisions you make.  While most people will still occasionally make bad decisions, there are things you can do to improve your decision making skills…Read More

Interesting Research – The Power of Questions for Achieving Goals

I’ve long been enamored with the power of questions.  However, until recently, I never realized how powerful questions could be in goal attainment.  According to research conducted by University of Illinois professor…Read More

Does Brainstorming Work?

People engage in unproductive activities called “brainstorming” that sometimes gives brainstorming a bad name, and when failing to put the work into getting the right people in the rooms and asking the right questions is like…Read More

Critical Thinking & Politics Don’t Mix

There’s a reason people say that we should never discuss politics and religion in mixed company.  People are more inclined to react to a situation in “fight or flight” mode than to employ critical thinking.  How can you avoid this trap?  Read more

Critical Thinking Training Opposed?

The Republican Party of Texas in its 2012 platform included a statement that they opposed the teaching of critical thinking skills.  Ironically, the vast majority of the population will misunderstand because of a lack of critical thinking.  Read More

I Hate Meetings!

“I hate meetings!”  Have you ever said these words?  You are not alone. Studies show that 50% of meeting time is wasted-that’s $143 Million for the average Fortune 500 company!  It doesn’t have to be this way.  Read More

Root Cause Success-SpaceX

In a historic and successful rocket launch on May 22nd, few will recall that SpaceX had to abort the mission just a half-second before the scheduled launch on May 19th.  In a text-book example of effectively…Read more

Root Cause Failure – F-22 Raptor

The F-22 Raptor is the most technologically advanced fighter jet ever conceived and has recently been plagued with a troubling oxygen delivery issue that results in hypoxia and has potentially lethal outcomes…Read More

Critical Thinking Training vs. Creativity Training

Some studies suggest critical thinking is essential while others suggest creativity is most important.  Which skills are most important to develop in our teams? The answer may surprise you.  Read More

Weak Processes Produce Weak Results

Weak processes commonly emerge from reorganizations and realignment when there is little time to critically evaluate why activities are being performed and everyone is trying to just get the work finished.  If your area has been restructured…Read More

Speed of Decision Making

Does decision making occur too slowly at your company?  Employee surveys at one oil & gas giant have ranked slow decisions as the #1 employee complaint for the last 5 years.  Do you know what drives slow decisions at your company?  Read More

Behind the Scenes at Pixar

When an organization produces one exceptional product after another, you need to take notice of what they are doing to foster such exceptional results.  With an unbroken string of blockbuster releases beginning in 1995…Read More

How Did It Get This Bad?

This Company is well known for their exemplary handling of tainted products in the 80′s but had 50-plus product recalls in a 15-month span ranging from antacids to hip replacements.Read More

It’s All in Your Head

Most people seem to think creativity is break-through ideas and really cool and, to some of us, quite foreign and unattainable abilities best left to graphics artists and marketing people.  In reality, creativity is something much more elegant…Read More

How to Make Sure Your Innovative Solution Fails

No matter how good your solution, it will likely be regarded a failure if you don’t implement it well.  Research conducted by Professor Paul Nutt revealed that 50% of decisions are never fully implemented.  Our own research…Read More

Research shows that creativity really is declining

A really interesting story about the problem of falling creativity scores appeared in a recent issue of Newsweek magazine.  While intelligence scores are climbing, creativity scores are dropping….significantly!  Read More

What CEOs Want From Training

Do you know what CEOs are really looking for from their Training organization?  Research results revealed a surprising mismatch between what CEO’s want and what they’re getting.  Read More

Stop Fighting Fires

Organizations of all types experience a condition commonly referred to as fire-fighting. There are observable symptoms of problematic fire-fighting than can substantially derail and organization – and profits.  Read More

Flip a coin to make your next decision?

Have you ever wondered why some decisions work out great and others don’t?  In fact, you may have noticed that it seems like a 50/50 proposition – a coin flip.  Truth is decisions really do fail about half the time! Read More

Stick to It – The Key to Achieving your Goals

What is the key to successfully achieving your strategy and goals for this year?  Just stick to it!  George Patton famously said that “A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.”  This sentiment is echoed… Read More

The overlooked element of creativity

Do you want to know the secret to creativity?  It’s focus.  Most people remember that it’s important to defer judgment and look for unique combinations but until you focus, creativity rarely happens.  Read More

Don’t just be a genius, be a genius maker!

Are you a genius or a genius maker?  Are you a Diminsher or a Multiplier?  According to research by the Wiseman Group, “Multipliers get twice the capability from their people than Diminishers do”.  If you are expected to do more with less… Read More

Don’t let the (un)expected derail you

Executing your strategies and plans can easily be derailed by issues that are within your span of influence – even when you think they aren’t in your control.   For instance, we can’t control inclement weather however; we do control… Read More

Learning from the mistakes of others

No one missed the tragedy that befell Deepwater Horizon and the Gulf Oil Spill in 2010.  However, the news of the spill overshadowed the tragic loss of life on the drilling platform and the many systems that could have prevented the loss of life.  Read More

6 Keys to an Innovative Organization

“There are three ways to lose money: gambling, divorce and innovation!” Yet, in a recent survey conducted by IBM, CEO’s ranked creativity as the most crucial factor for business success.   How can you transform your organization without losing money?  Read More