Tag: operations
-
How Apprenticeships and Processes Share Their DNA
At the heart of apprenticeships and processes lies a shared core DNA. You will be surprised to trace their ancestry and discover how much they have in common. The years-long journey of apprenticeship is celebrated, while stepwise processes are dismissed as bureaucracy. Yet both serve one unyielding purpose. Understanding them will change how your business…
-
Why Management Talent Is Harder to Find Than Engineering Talent
Companies are drowning in engineer resumes but starving for managers who can actually make those engineers deliver. The real bottleneck isn’t code or AI skills, it’s coordination. Headlines scream about tech talent shortages, yet the data tells a different story: great managers are as rare as a lighthouse keeper in the desert. Gallup says only…
-
Gravitational pull of leadership
Have you imagined a corporate structure comparable to a planetary system and that they have a “gravitational” pull? Picture the CEO at the center, with concentric management layers. Too flat with many direct reports doesn’t scale, and managers will be overworked and ineffective. Too many layers, and communication breaks down, politics flourish, and bureaucratic processes…
-
Duck Assisted Management
People often approach me and ask how to deal with a manager who feels compelled to make frequent “contributions.” A technique used once in the development of a chess game may be the closest solution to date for this predicament. In this article I will show you how to handle those situations, keep a good…
-
Legitimate Agreement and Highly Productive Teams
Leaders aim for success through team engagement and productivity. Legitimate authority, as outlined by Rousseau, relies on mutual consent and clear communication. Establishing an agreement with the team fosters alignment and ownership. Continuous feedback and progress monitoring ensure effectiveness, promoting a culture where criticism is welcomed and valued for improvement.
-
Don’t let it break–there won’t be any thank you notes
On March 2024 I came across a social media post advocating for team members to let systems break so to raise awareness about underlying issues. I fundamentally disagree with the abdication of responsibility and betrayal of customer trust. There is a deeper issue and lack of effective communication with stakeholders. Letting your systems fail, and…
-
Refactoring a bureaucratic process
The post discusses the challenges of changing an established process within a company, using an example of refactoring the process for releasing products. It describes the difficulties, resistance, and steps taken to implement change, eventually leading to a successful pilot and the adoption of a simplified process. The key principles for refactoring a bureaucratic process…