REALIZING ROI VIA OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES AND EFFECTIVE PROJECT EXECUTION

Remembering Victims of 9-11

I’m glued to the TV this morning, watching images of those horrible events ten years ago when the Twin Towers in New York city collapsed. Earlier this week, Phyllis and I visited a 9-11 remembrance memorial in our town of Dublin, Ohio. 3000 plus American flags, one for every victim of those attacks on 9-11, are displayed in a field adjacent to Dublin Coffman High School. Local Boy Scout troops are spending the night to keep vigil over our flags; acts of honor and respect that chokes me up and makes me proud all at once.

Next to the flags are multiple banner boards depicting the names of all the victims in alphabetical order. Looking at all these names brings home the enormity of the losses suffered 10 years ago and to think this visual doesn’t include the collateral damage suffered by friends, family, and business. I feel inconsequential in the face of it all.

I’m not sure what else I can say about the calamity of 9-11 that already hasn’t been said. Vocabulary lacking, for once in my life I’m simply mute.

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Why Do Relationships Matter?

Are You Keeping Up With Your Relationships?

Like many of you, I have a lot of family, friends and business relationships. I’d like to think I do a good job of maintaining contact with those I care about, and with those I do business with frequently. However, the sad truth is, I should be attending relationship building 101 classes right about now. Most of what I write about, read in trade journals and business books, concerns improving business effectiveness and associated processes. To that end, having strong relationships, knowing who you can trust in good times and bad, is essential. I could design the most efficient process a company has ever seen but it would never gain any traction if my business partners didn’t have faith in me or my work. Any salesperson worth a lick will testify their success is due in large part to the relationships they’ve established with their customers.

Why Performance Reviews Matter

Employee performance reviews; we love to hate them. Ask any of your friends and co-workers what they think of this annual ritual and you’ll receive a mixed bag of responses; anything from “It doesn’t matter,” to “We all have to fit within the bell curve.” I’m a believer that if practiced correctly, as part of an institutional performance appraisal system, performance reviews can benefit both employer and employee. Of course this depends greatly on what you think “correctly” means as we all have our own definition of both how to conduct, and receive a performance review.

Admitting When You Are Wrong

To admit fault, or not to admit fault, that is the question: OK sure; not exactly Shakespeare. However, no doubt a question on the minds of many a Toyota executive considering their recent gas pedal challenges. Faced with continued public concern over car safety, Toyota began recalling thousands of cars while tempering final production of existing autos until a fix was determined. As a result, Toyota has suffered financial repercussions: since the U.S. recalls were announced, Toyota stock has dropped approximately 22 percent financial losses as shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. If this wasn’t bad enough for Toyota, information was recently revealed that the poster car for going green, the Prius, has brake design problems. Dealerships in Tokyo were informed of this by the automaker, but not customers.

Aftermath – The State Of The Union

Well what did you think of the President’s State Of The Union speech last night? Surely you have an opinion. Everyone else does. Did Mr. Obama crystallize our country’s strategy for you, or did he leave you guessing? Were you inspired by the president’s words to take personal action? If so that is fantastic.

In all fairness to Mr. Obama, outlining our nation’s strategy on national TV is challenging to say the least. I mean, you have members of congress clapping, yawning, smiling, and in some cases, mouthing utterances of apparent disagreement with portions of the president’s speech. And even if you didn’t have all those distractions would you completely grasp the strategy Mr. Obama outlined? I’m not certain I could.

The State of The Union

Tonight is a very exciting night for many as millions of people will be watching TV to hear what President Obama has to say during his first state of the union address to the American public since his election.  I’m excited to hear what kind of strategy the president has outlined for America.  Outlining an effective strategy is not only tremendously important for our country, but critical for businesses as well.  However, as Mr. Obama has already painfully discovered, creating a strategy with associated goals and objectives is one thing, delivering on that strategy is quite another.