Implementation

The Whole Job

When working with nonprofits I often talk about the importance of managing “the whole job.” Whether an organization sells a product or a service, it needs functions and processes that support the miss

Managers Must Address Their Shortcomings

It is human nature to emphasize what we do well and ignore or put off working on what does not come as naturally. A good manager must fight that instinct, understand what key leadership or management

Hiring and the Two Negatives

Last week I talked about how important it is to hire excellent people, people who can own their work, both its successes and failures. I’ve got a tip about how to make great hires. In addition to the

The “Let’s Do” Attitude

When your primary focus is just on solving problems, it shapes your attitude toward new ideas and how to put them to work. You want to go beyond pondering a problem to imagining the solution. It’s not

Face the Elevator Door

Change is the medium of opportunity. At Applied Materials, my team came up with a concept we called “facing the elevator door,” as a way of thinking about opportunity. With shifting economic cycles, t

Where Strategy Meets Action

Implementation is partly about an attitude: Just do it. It’s when strategy meets a bias toward action and thoughtful completion. People tend to get comfortable with process and reports. The great valu