So once I got to attend an “executive coaching session” a few years back down in Florida. It really was group therapy intervention. I should have known when they told us there would be no alcohol allowed for the week, and that they strongly urged us not use any drugs (e.g. painkillers). The other giveaway? Tons of tissue boxes scattered around the room. But I digress.
A friend of mine is an associate professor at NYU, and he asks me to come and guest lecture for his students. This class is focused on process reengineering.
People underestimate the importance of process. Processes are horizontal, but organizations are vertical, so there’s a tension. Processes are end to end, but because organizations are silos, they only see their piece of the process which is usually well managed…it’s the “white space” between the functions that is where the disconnects usually lie.
Here are the reasons why I think bad process happens to good people.
Everywhere I’ve worked, I’ve found that processes are broken. Not people.
Recently, this has come up more and more in my conversations with women: situations where someone is struggling with a difficult individual, trying to get their job done. Worst thing? Every situation is woman/woman.
I can put up with a lot (incompetence, mistakes, laziness) but the worst behavior is bullying in the workplace. Here’s a definition I found online:
“Bullying is the use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively dominate others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual.” Continue reading
Hard to believe, but June is right around the corner…the midyear mark. Performance reviews can be awkward. I felt like they were doctor appointments: the faster you were in and out, the better. But having a real conversation with your manager is more important than ever to make sure you’re both on the same page in terms of you. Continue reading
When I was working at a large bank, I had a manager who said to me:
“When it comes to breakfast, the hen is involved, but the pig is committed.”
Now, I know he wasn’t telling me that I had to sacrifice my life for work, but I got his point. Continue reading
“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. ”
-Martin Luther king
I admit it, I have a HUGE girl-crush on Jenna Lyons. For those of you who don’t know her she is the force behind J.Crew. One of the few to survive after Micky Drexler took over the failing company, she has made ballet flats, military jackets, and chunky necklaces the norm, their sales catalogue as enticing as the new Vogue magazine, and just seems like the person you want to be friends with. Continue reading
Full confession, I don’t see myself as financial. I almost failed accounting at Wharton, which would have meant that I would have had to take it again during the summer. But I believe in the story that numbers tell. Continue reading
“Don’t think less of yourself, but think of yourself less.”
Yves Morieux, BCG Director, Financial Times, Feb 26th 2016.