http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?fid4ct=46549 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:08:00 EDT Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:08:00 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss RapidFeeds v0.1 -- http://www.rapidfeeds.com http://tolerosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/tolero-solutions.png http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?fid4ct=46549 1089 945 With my favorite NFL team out of the playoffs this year – I’ve had plenty of time to contemplate what makes a winning team – and it’s not all about the coach (or firing the coach, like my team did this year.) When it comes down to it, making an organization and a football team succeed entail many of the same components: http://tolerosolutions.com/how-to-have-a-winning-season-in-2013-and-make-the-playoffs-year-after-year/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6917002 Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:01:00 EDT For weekly tips feel free to follow us on Twitter or Facebook! http://tolerosolutions.com/tolero-tips-to-help-you-facilitate-sustainable-growth/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6917001 Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:00:00 EDT So by now most of you are aware of the incident that occurred at the US Embassy in Benghazi on September 11th 2012. An independent panel was established by the U.S. Government to further investigate how the attack occurred, how it was handled, and what can be done to prevent such future issues from taking place. More details released this week highlight that much of what they found relates to issues of organizational development – structure, process and leadership (I know, I know…shocking in a bureaucracy.) http://tolerosolutions.com/is-your-business-a-benghazi/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6917000 Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:59:00 EDT Tis the season – one reminder of the holiday season is the comedy Christmas Vacation. The 80’s classic is full of humorous scenes, including one that offers a lesson on employee morale and engagement. Clark is expecting his Christmas bonus, a thank you for his commitment to the company, a bonus he’s received for the past 17 years. http://tolerosolutions.com/jelly-of-the-month-club-how-are-you-saying-thank-you-to-your-employees/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6916997 Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:58:00 EDT How can you be a success? http://tolerosolutions.com/how-can-we-help-you-be-sustainable-organization-in-2013/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6916996 Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:58:00 EDT 2013 is literally around the corner. The topic of goals and objectives arises frequently this time of year. Many organizations (and individuals) have begun to update their strategies and create new goals for the New Year, have you? Hopefully you have, and if you haven’t, well – you may want to add it to your ‘to do’ list. http://tolerosolutions.com/goal-setting-whats-your-direction-are-you-ready-for-2013/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6916995 Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:56:00 EDT So by now we’ve all heard about the scandal with retired general and former head of the CIA, David Petraeus. Some of my European colleagues have balked that we can be a bit uptight in the U.S. when it comes to mixing business and personal – and that may be the case. However, as that is the culture in which we live (and lead) - those in positions of power need to conduct themselves within certain boundaries. Obviously someone failed to have this conversation with David Petraeus or former Lockheed Martin CEO, Christopher Kubasik... http://tolerosolutions.com/leadership-power-and-ethics-huh/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6847710 Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:05:00 EDT Achieving the leadership status and title of the Commander in Chief – President of the United States of America – is the highest appointed leadership position one could achieve. Sure – being a CEO is also a great achievement and the role is also intricate and complex. But leading a group of employees is much different than leading an entire nation... http://tolerosolutions.com/ceo-to-commander-in-chief-do-the-same-skills-apply/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6836659 Thu, 08 Nov 2012 18:15:00 EDT Many of us have experienced that moment – that moment when the excitement of a new job or new role begins to wane and we feel less than enthusiastic about going to work every day – the engagement decline. When you get that “Ugh, I so don’t want to come to work today…” feeling, often the catalyst can occur for many different reasons. So what do you do about the situation? http://tolerosolutions.com/do-i-really-want-to-work-here-what-are-you-doing-to-keep-me-engaged/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6813810 Wed, 17 Oct 2012 11:33:00 EDT Have you ever walked into an organization and just got that “Uh, why does everyone look the same” feeling… I know I have. You may have heard the expression, people are like snowflakes, and no two are the same – that’s diversity folks. In today’s ever diverse business environment, for organizations to excel, they must pay attention to – and show they value – the diversity of employees and customers. http://tolerosolutions.com/do-i-really-want-to-work-here-what-are-your-diversity-practices-telling-me/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6782670 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:08:00 EDT Have you ever walked into an organization and just got that “hum something just doesn’t feel right feeling”… I know I have (more times than I’d like to count). Many of us know from the first time we enter into an organization, whether as an employee or a consultant, that what they say is not what we see – or feel. The ever so important “gut check” we shouldn’t ignore. http://tolerosolutions.com/do-i-really-want-to-work-here-whats-your-culture-telling-me/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6782664 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:06:00 EDT Have you ever played dominos? If so – you know how long it takes to set up the pieces in whatever pattern you choose. Yet regardless of how long it took you to set up the pieces – once you push that first piece over – it takes seconds to cause a change reaction that brings everything to the ground. (Today’s Millennial’s probably have an app that does it digitally for them…) Dominos are actually a learning lesson when it comes to business... http://tolerosolutions.com/the-domino-effect-dont-play-games-with-your-organizational-success/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6759951 Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:13:00 EDT Sounds a little bit like the Wizard of Oz, we know. Similar to that classic story – what type of boss you are can determine if your people respond to you more like Munchkins or Monkey Soldiers. While we were writing this blog with our marketing partner, Preactive Marketing, we found something interesting while we researched this topic, and it made us raise an eyebrow. How to be a boss generates roughly 20 million monthly global hits – yet how to be a good boss generates only 33,000 monthly global hits... http://tolerosolutions.com/how-to-be-a-boss-are-you-a-good-boss-or-a-bad-boss/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6759948 Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:13:00 EDT GlaxoSmithKline, (GSK) a British drug maker, recently purchased the Human Genome Sciences (HGS) based in Rockville, MD. Their first order of business – fire the executive team and most of the board of directors – seems they chose the often too typical and sometimes detrimental approach – we bought them so let’s get rid of their people and processes and do it our way. Why wouldn’t GSK take – what I think to be – the smart approach to an acquisition – let’s try and retain the intellectual capital (you know, the people who know stuff) of the company we purchased and explore how to best transition knowledge and merge our cultures and strategy?... http://tolerosolutions.com/youre-firedbut-help-us-anyway-gsk-acquisition-sends-executive-team-packing/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6759947 Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:12:00 EDT Part Three in a Summer Series on Creating a High Performing Organization: According to our marketing partner –Preactive Marketing – the phrase “culture is…” generates roughly 20 million global hits. This indicates it is quite a popular topic and that people are interested in what culture is - and why having a high performance one is important... http://tolerosolutions.com/culture-is/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6759944 Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:11:00 EDT Part Two in a Summer Series on Creating a High Performing Organization: According to our marketing partner – Preactive Marketing – the phrase “strategy is…” generates roughly 13.6 million global hits. This indicates it is quite a popular topic and that people are interested in what a strategy should contain and why having one is important... http://tolerosolutions.com/strategy-is/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6759943 Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:11:00 EDT I’m sure you’ve seen it in the news, or at least heard about it – the bullied bus monitor. A bus monitor, 68 year old Karen Klein, was bombarded with a stream of profanity, insults, jeers and physical ridicule by multiple middle school kids as she rode the bus. I’ll spare the specifics as to the obscenely rude and hurtful remarks uttered by these kids – one, because it really angers me personally and professionally, and two, because you can find what they said in the cell phone video and in various news stories... http://tolerosolutions.com/bullies-on-the-bus-bullies-in-the-boardroom/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6759941 Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:09:00 EDT We’ll share our thoughts, though we also prefer to hear from you, so share your opinion ! According to our marketing partner, Preactive Marketing, the phrase “leadership is” has over 6 million global monthly searches. This indicates there is a growing interest in the topic and in learning to become a better leader. So, how would you finish the phrase leadership is… http://tolerosolutions.com/leadership-is/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6657458 Thu, 28 Jun 2012 11:10:00 EDT Part One in a Summer Series on How to Improve your Performance: So how many of you raised your hand? It’s ok, we can’t see you – go ahead, be honest. If we were to ask your employees if they feel your organization can improve employee development and learning and increase recognition– how many would raise their hand? http://tolerosolutions.com/raise-your-hand-if-your-organization-can-improve-employee-development-recognition/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6654815 Tue, 26 Jun 2012 10:38:00 EDT As a small business owner, and Organizational Development practitioner, I value the importance of positive organizational cultures. Many organizations find employee growth and development a daunting task, and are not sure where to begin in designing processes and programs that contribute to employee growth and development, and thus increase engagement and performance... http://tolerosolutions.com/how-to-create-and-honor-a-culture-of-employee-development/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6654814 Tue, 26 Jun 2012 10:36:00 EDT After a full on rebranding, new strategic direction, and massive organizational changes designed to reinvent the retailer and improve profits – J.C. Penney suffered a dismal 1st quarter. A lot exists for shareholders and stakeholders to be frustrated about – and much of it relates to organizational development and leadership (or poor leadership)... http://tolerosolutions.com/j-c-penney-during-times-of-change-funny-commercials-arent-good-enough/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6626254 Thu, 31 May 2012 14:21:00 EDT Anyone who has ever been part of a team can most likely tell you it’s not always easy forming the team and working together effectively. Structure, process, culture, politics, personality…teams are complicated. And if you’ve ever tried to better the working relationships of team members you probably know, that although not an easy task, that it doesn’t take $823,000 to establish functional high performance. I mean seriously, GSA, seriously! I’ve been to Vegas, for business and for fun, and trust me, both can be done enjoyably and efficiently on a reasonable budget. So, here are 7 stages to how to increasing team performance – for under $823,000... http://tolerosolutions.com/dear-gsa-7-steps-on-how-to-conduct-teambuilding-for-under-823000/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6606079 Fri, 11 May 2012 11:06:00 EDT We all have hot buttons and triggers – those little things (or sometimes big things) that just get us so upset they make our blood boil. They can often cause us to flip our lid – and they happen in both our personal lives and our professional lives. You may yell at your children, you may yell at spouse or your partner (please, we all do it), but rarely can you yell at your boss or your co-workers. I just got a flashback to the 80’s movie Nine to Five, but I digress. So, regardless of what your hot buttons may be (and trust me, figuring out what they are and why is never easy), there are some ways you can respond if they do get pushed.... http://tolerosolutions.com/are-your-buttons-getting-pushed-3-tips-on-what-you-can-do/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6579075 Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:08:00 EDT The role of the CHRO has shifted over the years from responding to employee needs, compliance and setting policies – to the more strategic objectives of helping organizations build capabilities and capacity, via a focus on people. In this capacity, you may be responsible for a strategic human capital plan; professional development, talent management and recruitment, retention and engagement, and culture – not to mention making sure all initiatives are aligned with the company’s strategic objectives and goals. Not easy tasks – and not tasks that can always be tackled alone. Good news Organization Development (OD) can help. 5 tips on how working collaboratively with OD colleagues can help you achieve your goals… http://tolerosolutions.com/attention-chief-human-resources-officer-chro-svp-hr-5-ways-organizational-development-can-help-to-achieve-your-goals/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6562792 Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:39:00 EDT Much discussion has transpired lately regarding strategy and culture – though, more so the battle between which is more important and why. Although I find the various points of view to both be of value and interest, I find the entire discussion to be quit absurd. Can we call a truce?... http://tolerosolutions.com/strategy-vs-culture-can-we-call-a-truce/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6558520 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:45:00 EDT "Me, I’m dishonest, and you can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest. Honestly, it’s the honest ones you have to watch out for.” - Captain Jack Sparrow Trust is the foundation of any successful relationship both personal and professional, and when it is broken, it is extremely hard to repair. Even though all specifics weren’t shared with the general public, for the most part, the general public has now lost trust in Goldman Sachs leadership and thus the firm overall. http://tolerosolutions.com/in-goldman-sachs-we-trustor-do-we/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6545903 Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:23:00 EDT As an Organizational Development (OD) and Change Management practitioner I often get asked by leaders – so what does that mean? Why are these things important to my business? And how can they help me create a high performing organization? Well…let me explain the executive summary (OK well the sort of executive summary)… http://tolerosolutions.com/what-is-change-management-why-is-it-important-to-your-organization/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6545902 Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:22:00 EDT So your organization is going through some type of change. How can lack of communication during times of change affect your productivity and profitability? More than likely your employees know what’s going on earlier than you may think. Actually, if your organization is currently going through a change, employees and customers are probably talking about it as you read this. So it would best if you addressed that ‘pink elephant’ in the room and nip that ‘water cooler’ talk in the bud soon as possible... http://tolerosolutions.com/why-is-no-one-talking-about-the-pink-elephant-in-the-room-or-are-they/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6530221 Thu, 08 Mar 2012 21:43:00 EDT When accounting for the costs (both real costs, such as time taken to select and recruit a replacement, and also opportunity costs, such as lost productivity), the cost of employee turnover to for-profit organizations has been estimated to be up to 150% of the employees’ remuneration package. Can you afford that? http://tolerosolutions.com/an-improving-economy-could-mean-loss-of-employees-will-they-stay-or-will-they-go-thats-up-to-you http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6490489 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:29:00 EDT We’ve all been hearing a lot lately about generations and the generational divide, the generational gap, multi generational conflict in the workplace – some see it as a huge issue, some see it as a small issue, and some don’t see it as an issue at all – yet it is an issue. If the various generations in your organization all see things through a different lens, are thinking differently, carrying pre-determined stereotypes of one another, and not clearly communicating for understanding – performance and morale suffer! http://tolerosolutions.com/part-1generational-diversity-in-government-%E2%80%93-what%E2%80%99s-your-generation-thinking/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6463922 Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:48:00 EDT As a recap, I had the pleasure and privilege of speaking on the panel, Bridging the Generation Gap, at the Next Generation of Government Summit in July 2010, sponsored by Govloop. As the 2011 Next Generation of Government Summit is quickly approaching – what better time to reflect back and share experiences from last year’s read more… http://tolerosolutions.com/part-2-generational-diversity-in-government-%E2%80%93-what%E2%80%99s-your-generation-thinking/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6463921 Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:47:00 EDT By Scott Span, MSOD A recent US Senate hearing on the recruitment and hiring of college graduates made it clear that the Senators as well as the panelists from government and academia faced difficult questions about the future of the workforce and the dismal U.S. economy. The harsh reality is that the marketplace is not read more… http://tolerosolutions.com/to-jump-start-the-economy-is-an-%E2%80%9Corganizational-development-intervention-needed/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6463919 Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:46:00 EDT Real life leadership lesson – be transparent, congruent and authentic to both yourself and to those you lead! To be clear – I am wearing my organization development practitioner hat here. This is a bi-partisan analysis of a real life event to highlight what I believe are imperative traits of successful leadership -transparency, congruence, and read more… http://tolerosolutions.com/the-obama-jobs-speech-real-life-leadership-lessons/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6463918 Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:45:00 EDT To Netflix and Facebook it appears that customers don’t matter. It’s been an interesting few weeks in the media for two very public companies with very large customer bases – Netflix and Facebook. Both of these companies have taken a change in strategic direction, both companies have failed to consult their customers/users, and both companies. http://tolerosolutions.com/changing-your-strategy-do-customers-matter/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6463917 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:07:00 EDT In today’s rapidly evolving business environment, organizations are often forced to remain competitive by adapting a culture of rapid change (I’ll offer up ideas on how to successfully accomplish that in a future publication). However, updating and communicating the organizations’ strategy to reflect these changes frequently doesn’t occur. A solid strategy is the cement and mortar in. http://tolerosolutions.com/how-do-we-get-there-is-your-organization%E2%80%99s-strategy-working-for-you/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6463916 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:07:00 EDT Many companies talk a good game when it comes to employee engagement and recognition, though few have mastered it. Some organizations are close, some still trying, and many are nowhere near success. So you may be thinking, why should I care if my employees are recognized for their performance? Because if they aren’t recognized, then... http://tolerosolutions.com/a-pat-on-the-back-please-are-your-employees-recognized-for-their-performance/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6463915 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:07:00 EDT Change is never easy. Change is a bumpy process. But why is change so hard? Change is hard because it is an emotional experience for most. An emotional experience, particularly an experience one often has little choice in being part of, creates resistance. Resistance is a natural emotion, though an emotion that can make change even harder... http://tolerosolutions.com/change-transition-no-they-are-not-the-same-thing/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6463914 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:08:00 EDT 2012 is literally around the corner. The topic of goals and objectives arises frequently this time of year. Many organizations (and individuals) have begun to update their strategies and create new goals for the New Year, have you? Hopefully you have, and if you haven’t, well – you may want to add it to your ‘to do’ list... http://tolerosolutions.com/goal-setting-why-bother-are-you-setting-your-2012-goals-3/ http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6463913 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:08:00 EDT