Recently a friend working in a rapidly-growing Twin Cities based company lamented how much had changed in his organization the last few years: “It just isn’t the same place. . . People don’t feel as loyal or energized. . . We’re not feeling the same sense of purpose. . .” When I asked

Yes, I really do mean values proposition, not value proposition. We’re accustomed to thinking of an organization’s or business value proposition – the degree that it meets the needs, wants and requirements of target markets and customers. We pay less attention to how the values of an

I had the pleasure of lunch recently with the former VP of Sales for a $16 million technology company, published author and speaker. Mark Faris freely shares another distinguishing credential: he is a convicted felon for mail / wire fraud and money laundering who did eleven months of

by Bill Gjetson (This month’s guest author is Bill Gjetson, who shares my belief that stories play an important role shaping a leader’s and organization’s identity.  After a 30 year career in Human Resources  with Caterpillar, Bill is now engaged in experience-based leader

It is sadly ironic that Penn State University and its leaders, concerned as they were about legacy, will perhaps best be known for their failures.  Over fifteen years, at least eight young boys were molested, some at Penn State’s athletic facilities, by the defensive coach of its reve

Rupert Murdoch pulled the plug on NEWS OF THE WORLD, Britain’s nearly 170-year-old tabloid journal, in the wake of its unethical and illegal phone hacking practices.  As I heard that, I couldn’t help thinking of the analogy about “closing barn doors after the horses escaped.”  Shocked

Do you remember being warned as a kid about “hanging out with the wrong crowd,” and that if you did you were likely to get into trouble?  That was pretty good advice, and it still holds true.  These days I think of that when “bad things happen to good companies” mainly because of the

When I help organizations articulate their core values, the lists look very similar.  I often see values that are variations of integrity,” “honesty,” “service,” “excellence,” “quality,” “trust” and “stewardship.”  That’s fine as long as people really mean those values; after all, the