The American Society for Training and Development reports that U.S. businesses spend a whopping $170 billion on leadership training programs.  They largely fail or at the very least fall way short of the expectations set for them. Why? Because you do not train leaders; you develop them. Training does have its place. We can train...

You are the owner/manager of a retail department store. Your store is busy so high sales volume also means a lot of returns. One of the new employees is tasked with handling the checkout register and for restocking items as they are returned when checkout traffic permits. The employee has gone through the company’s orientation...

A friend once remarked that “It is amazing how much you can get done if you just do it.” A look at a jobs offered column on line or in a newspaper will inevitably turn up several with the qualifier “Must be a self-starter.”  Why? Because you hire people to extend your reach, multiply your...

He had one of two nicknames which I had given him and I used one or the other depending on my mood. He is the sales manager of a large retail outlet at which I worked for two years on my way to retirement from working at large. (I have since “retired” but powered up...

The first three installments in this series covering management’s most basic principles addresses Planning, Organizing, and Training. Once those have been done, or more realistically, once those are being done, the final principle is that of controlling action. If nothing is moving, the first challenge is to get things moving in an orderly manner. One...

After I sold my business in the Caribbean, I took a job at a major home improvement retailer (the one with the blue, gray, and red logo not the orange one). I had owned and operated a millwork business in the islands so I was very familiar with doors, windows, trim, and custom work so...

POTC – the four elemental components of any effective management strategy I am still in Uganda and will be for several more weeks. It is my privilege to be training some new managers as they make the transition into the realm of those who lead others. I am well aware of the Peter Principle which...

Jeff does not enjoy performance appraisals. His lack of enthusiasm for the task stems not from any reluctance on his part to scrutinize and identify strong and weak places in his staff’s performance nor does it arise from apprehension over the need to make corrections if needed. Indeed, Jeff’s lack of enjoyment comes from his...

Four Reasons Why We Work Alone. First, We Find It Too Daunting to Release Responsibility to Others.  We have an  intuitive understanding of our ultimate objectives and the things that need to be done in order to reach those objectives. Often the people to whom we would release responsibility don’t. Our natural instincts, insight, and...