Wow! Teamwork in hard times

What does teamwork really mean? Would the U.S. economy be where it is today if we really had this? Ok, the U.S. economy is for another post. This post is about us, and how in bad times we are becoming a better and more focused team.

This Wow! was hard to write. It was also exciting to write. It exposes leadership weaknesses (clarity, verification). It also cheers leadership strengths (vision, empathy, persistence) that compel people to do the right thing rightโ€ฆto keep the business โ€“ our ship- clipping along in or toward a blue ocean (niche success!), even in the midst of chaosโ€ฆ

Here’s our “wow” for this week: This Wow! goes to my team. This month every single person on the team deferred their pay until the work they have in progress is completed. The only exceptions made were for part-time team members who completed short projects.

Why is this “wow!”? I look around and see that we are not the only team not completely in check with our strategy day to day. Thereโ€™s a better way and we are moving to itโ€ฆand ready to help others do the same.

If people stop doing the right things right, the ship stops, or at least stalls and goes off course.

We didnโ€™t stopโ€ฆthanks to the team. The communication is becoming clearer every day. And we are making the small yet continuous adjustments needed to keep on course. Continue reading “Wow! Teamwork in hard times”

Wow! Excellence is not perfection

You received a Holiday e-card from me today. It was a team effort, —– and me, and it gets my wow because it was started and completed fast! Weโ€™ve not always been good at โ€œfast.โ€

Here’s our “wow” for this week: —–, I am sending you this “WOW!” because you did exactly what was needed to get this out on time, hurdling obstacles in this quick race.

Why is this “wow!”? At the last minute, Thursday, I decided to create a holiday video. I had confidence that we could get this done fast. And we did! But we were faced with many hurdles, most of which —- ended up having to jump overโ€ฆ.

It started with meโ€ฆ I couldnโ€™t figure out how to put together the light kit I purchased. I really wanted this to be my sincere, personal-yet-professional message. I also wanted it to be festive… Continue reading “Wow! Excellence is not perfection”

Wow! S-P-E-E-D

Last week I focused on s-p-e-e-d. This week is about another driver of our success: smart use of TIME!
… that is your time and others’ time.

On the subject of time management, this week’s “Wow!” goes to ———-.

Here’s our “wow” for this week: I am sending to you a “WOW!” as a person who works in steps so that you can get input and stay on track. You get stuff done, with effective use of you time, and mine.

Why is this “wow!”?
Here’s what we don’t want:If you’ve managed others you may have run into the type of person who, if there is a deadline tomorrow, happily gives themselves until the end of the day (usually waiting until the last minute to even start after having plenty of time) not showing drafts along the way so the manager has no clue if it is on track (even if asked for, and promised repeatedly), leaving it to the manager to now make up for the lost time after hours …and leaving no time to correct the work if what was done was not what was expected. Or at times the results are coming, “today!,” “tomorrow for sure!”… and then never comes at all.

Continue reading “Wow! S-P-E-E-D”