by Rodger Price | Aug 26, 2019 | Business Acumen, Innovation
This is the third in my mini-series on creating new value, also known as innovation. The first post took a deep dive into the concept of value—what it is and how it should be core to the existence of every organization—especially for-profit organizations. The second...
by Rodger Price | Aug 18, 2019 | Business Acumen, Innovation
Last week I shared my contention that innovation is nothing more, and nothing less, that finding new ways to bring real value to others. (Value being defined as some perceived benefit divided by some perceived cost). I promised in that posting to share the two...
by Rodger Price | Aug 5, 2019 | Business Acumen, Innovation
You may know that we’ve been redesigning some modules of LEAD 365 this year (along with changing its name to LEAD 24/7). Some of you went through a version of the program before we even started exploring innovation. Over the past two years some of you...
by Meredith Nieuwsma | Jul 29, 2019 | Leading Yourself
In late 2009, I took a twelve-week maternity leave. I was quite sure that it would be a working leave. I was in the middle of so many projects, leading many of them, and I was the expert on our organization’s database. The organization I worked for at the time...
by Jeffrey Boersma | Jul 22, 2019 | Leadership Framework
If we were playing Jeopardy, the clue I’m about to give deserves to be the Daily Double: The three “buckets” we are committed to filling in the year of LEAD 365. If you were the first to your buzzer, you would give the following answer (in the form of a question, of...
by Meredith Nieuwsma | Jul 15, 2019 | Leaning into Healthy Conflict
Alternative Title: How a Lowly Brake Operator Changed Corporate Policy in One Conversation My father spent the last 10 years or so of his career working at a metal-press company in the Kalamazoo area. He was responsible for training new employees how to use the...
by Meredith Nieuwsma | Jul 8, 2019 | Feedback
In the last post in this series we explored how to apply the leadership tool of listening. This week, we’re focusing on feedback and the results you can get when you use this tool wisely. Once again, this post isn’t about HOW to give feedback (for that, go...
by Meredith Nieuwsma | Jun 24, 2019 | Listening
Listening—so simple to understand, so hard to do. I’m talking about real listening—listening to understand—not being silent until it’s your turn to talk. This post is not about HOW to listen. (For that, go here or here). Today we’re going to focus on...
by Meredith Nieuwsma | Jun 17, 2019 | Living Systems
All leaders, regardless of industry, position, education, or experience, have at least one thing in common: They all work with humans. In fact, leaders are humans themselves! And as frustrating as it can be, humans often behave in ways that don’t make sense....
by Meredith Nieuwsma | Jun 10, 2019 | Leading Yourself
A man was inside his house during terrible rainstorm. The streets began to flood. Terrified, he prayed to God to rescue him. As he was praying, there was a knock at the door. It was his neighbor, offering him a ride to safety. The man was too afraid to move. He...
