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”

Taking Action Against Distractions

Distractions. While one might expect this is simple to define, I say it is anything but! Is social (virtual) networking a distraction? Is answering the phone a distraction? In my terms – with an eye on alignment between action and Strategy – I categorize these as distractions if they divert from Strategy, and as a necessary part of the day if they do not. You can only know this for you and your team if you have clearly defined your Strategy. I’ve sought out other opinions and below you will find the first of several guest posts. I hope you enjoy this post written by John Hagerman, COO of Ontend. – Lori

Itโ€™s three oโ€™clock in the afternoon and Iโ€™ve been busy working all day long, and I havenโ€™t gotten one thing done that has moved my business forward an inch! I love to get things done, actually I live to get things done, you know, write the list, do tasks, and cross them off the list type of getting things done. Unfortunately, Iโ€™ve found that all too frequently getting lots of busy stuff crossed off my list means Iโ€™ve totally neglected what matters. This holds especially true when it comes to all the demands and enticements technology creates. Continue reading “Taking Action Against Distractions”