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ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
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 Stephen
Hawley Martin is
a former principal of The Martin
Agency in Richmond and the author
of more than half a dozen books including
his newest, Lean Enterprise Leader:
How to Get Things Done Without Doing
It All Yourself.
He is editor
and publisher of The
Oaklea Press, a book publishing
business dedicated primarily to helping
business executives increase productivity.
He can be reached at shmartin@oakleapress.com
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Being aware of the stages
of adjustment to change can help in a transition
June 7, 2006
If you've ever tried to
institute major change in an organization or business,
chances are you know how hard it can be. The reason
is it's human nature for people to resist change,
and most people require time to adapt. I'm not
a psychologist, but I've been told that people
pass through predictable stages when they deal
with a loss or a change in status quo.
Read
more ...
How to institute a major
change in how your company is run
May 31, 2006
One
thing is true in just
about any business.
You get what you measure
and you pay for. When
people's jobs and livelihoods
depend on something
getting done, it almost
always gets done. This
means it's important
to keep score in order
to know precisely how
the business is doing
in each key area, and
to hand out rewards
to employees when the
goals they've given
are met.
Read
more ...
Focusing on waste reduction
can drop money to the bottom line
May 24, 2006
One thing is true in just
about any business. You get what you measure
and you pay for. When people's jobs and livelihoods
depend on something getting done, it almost always
gets done. This means it's important to keep
score in order to know precisely how the business
is doing in each key area, and to hand out rewards
to employees when the goals they've given are
met.
Read
more ...
More on how to create an
effective team
May 17, 2006
It
must be something in
human nature that causes
groups of people to
organize themselves
into a hierarchal pecking
order. Perhaps it has
to do with the stronger
males wanting to dominate.
No matter what the
reason, allowing this
tendency a free hand
in business can lead
to low productivity
and gross inefficiencies.
Read
more ...
Resist the temptation to
expand your business beyond its core competencies
May 1, 2006
Here's something to think
about. A study by Bain & Co. shows a majority
of the most successful companies during the past
50 years have achieved their status because they
stuck to their core competencies. When these
companies made acquisitions, the successful ones
were almost always tied closely to the acquirer's
core business, dovetailing with the company's
competencies.
Read
more ...
The half-million dollar glove
story
April 25, 2006
An
executive at John Deere
had a summer intern
that he was trying
to keep busy. He gave
her the assignment
of digging into purchasing
data to see what savings
suggestions she might
come up with. Unfortunately,
no central database
existed that would
provide answers questions
such as what items
were purchased from
which suppliers and
how much did they cost
over the life of many
purchase orders?
Read
more ...
How Companies Can Save, Let
Us Count the Ways
April 13, 2006
Think you've squeezed
that last nickel out of your company's expenses?
You've consolidated vendors, negotiated discounts
for on-time payments, even considered buying
a consortium for your heavy hitters? Well, don't
make the mistake of thinking you've reached the
limit of what you can save. The extended enterprise
is an endless network of un-mined savings opportunities.
Read
more ...
Six Sigma quality: Just what
is it, anyway?
April 4, 2006
Most people in business
today have heard about Six Sigma quality. You
might say it's a current buzz word. But exactly
what is it? Six Sigma is a reference to the level
of quality produced in a manufacturing process.
Read
more ...
How to save money without
investing a cent
March 28, 2006
Everyone
likes to save money, especially
when savings don't require
new capital equipment or personnel.
Yet, every day, companies leave
millions of dollars on the
table, money they simply didn't
know they had.
Read
more ...
When management and staff
are not performing as they could, it's time to
change the way you compensate them
March 14, 2006
Whether you realize it or
not, one thing is true in just about any business.
You get what you measure and you pay for.
When people's jobs and livelihoods depend on something getting done, it almost
always gets done. This means it's important to keep score in order to know
precisely how the business is doing in each key area and to hand out rewards
to employees when the goals they've been given are met.
Read
more ...
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Stephen Hawley Martin
is a former principal of The Martin Agency in Richmond and the
author of more than half a dozen books including his newest,
Lean Enterprise Leader: How to Get Things Done Without Doing
It All Yourself. He is editor and publisher of The Oaklea Press,
a book publishing business dedicated primarily to helping business
executives increase productivity.
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