Our Blog
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
OKWe may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.
We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.
We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.
These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.
If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Google reCaptcha Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:
The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:
Leader versus manager
/in Ideas to help you build a solid team/by Tom DoescherI may lose some readers over this one, but here goes anyway. Many leaders — including Frank Moran, former managing partner of Plante & Moran — have said you manage tasks, but you lead people. I believe this is especially true today, because there are very few purely manual jobs. I have spent the last 20 years in manufacturing, and I love to go on plant tours. Do you realize everything machine operators have to know to perform their jobs today? Running a machine can be very complex work; some of the work cells I have seen remind me of Houston’s Mission Control Center. So what’s my point? There probably are times when an activity is purely a task, and your role may be that of a manager — but I would suggest that, in most environments I have observed, what most associates need is leadership. A leader provides a clear plan/goal, offers relevant training, gives developmental feedback when something does not go right (I did not say screaming!), is accessible to answer questions, and remembers to say “thank you” for a job well done. If you have subordinates, I challenge you to think of yourself as a leader, rather than a manager or a boss.
Create your own path
/in Nuggets and Encouragement Regarding Strategy and Focus/by Tom DoescherBarbara and I got back into cross-country skiing this year. One day, as we were skiing along a groomed track in beautiful northern Michigan, I thought to myself, “It would be more fun to make my own track through the snow, but it would definitely be more difficult.” I think the same is true in business. Too often, I hear discussions where people are analyzing what their competitors are doing versus exploring what their customers and clients want. Is it easier to copy the competition rather than possibly reinventing your product to meet your customers’ needs? Of course it is! Just as in skiing, it is definitely simpler and less risky to follow the track that has already been laid out instead of breaking new ground and trying something different. A few years ago, I read a really thought-provoking book, Blue Ocean Strategy. The authors talked about how most of us operate in the “red” ocean, studying and emulating our competitors. They went on and gave great examples of companies that operate in the “blue” ocean, and have successfully created their own track. Is your team satisfied to glide along in the groomed track, or do you have a mechanism — or, better yet, culture — that encourages breaking out of the mold and trying new things?
Haven’t We Learned Anything
/in Sharpening Your Personal Leadership Skills/by Tom DoescherRecently, I met the son of one of the Detroit 3 executives. Just to give you a little background, his father is at a senior level with the same company, and the son is an up and coming manager level engineer. Jim Collins talks about hubris being the first stage of how mighty companies fall. Back to my encounter, the son, like his dad displayed a fair amount of hubris. He was quick to criticize the engineers in country X. This same country is home to the fastest growing OEM in the U.S. In business, there are a lot of emotions. Do you base your decisions and views on facts and data or emotions (I don’t like XXXXX)?