The importance of a motivated, happy team in the workplace is often underestimated. Find out why you need to invest in your staff to get more out of them.

When you've put your heart and soul into an initiative, you can't help but feel some personal gratification when it comes to fruition. Even, if you don't get the credit. NOT GETTING THE CREDIT!? What is that about? When something is for the good of the team and/or the organization, it doesn't make a difference where the credit goes, as long as the initiative gets done.

In today's world, innovation is a business imperative. You either find new and better ways to add value to your customers, you play follow the leader with those who do, or you go out of business as others change the game and you lose. Most business leaders intuitively know this. Which is why more and more are making sincere efforts to encourage innovation in their companies. Unfortunately, these efforts rarely produce the desired results.

The gap between data being managed by IT and content being managed by the business is rapidly disappearing. As the value (and potential risk) of information is being consistently recognized by organizations as critical to their success they are investing in information management systems.

Adversity can be our greatest teacher if we let it. But, sometimes we get angry at adversity. When this happens, it clouds our perspective and dims the possibilities available to us.

I had just gotten the CEO position. I wasn't completely sure of the story behind the company problems. The company was bleeding red ink each month, and we didn't have a lot of time to make changes.

Do you remember your creativity and energy when you were in kindergarten? Do these words fit: flurry of activity, energy, excitement, passion, innocence, learning, laughter and sometimes tears? Ideas and excitement were everywhere. What if your organization's culture had the same energy, fun and creativity as a kindergarten class? Discover these 3 secrets to re create your personal independence.

There usually is no shortage of critics when organizations flounder. Initial signs are the financials. Part of the cause may be the economy. The most significant cause is the cultural health of the company. Arrogance, greed and a disregard for the truth are organization culture failures.

Twelve hard-hitting actions that CEO's must take to guarantee programme success: 1. Always take on customer delivery commitments without consulting the people who have to deliver the work.

Employees are your most critical research resource. No one is more knowledgeable with what is working inside the organization. No one is likely more interested in the success of the organization than employees. Their career, income, retirement are all at stake. In addition a great organization satisfies the employee need to feel their contributions make a difference and they have an opportunity to learn and grow.

Persons over 50 years old may remember when church doctrine between Protestants, Catholics, Lutherans, and Methodists may have caused personal conflict. I recall a disapproving glance when going to a Methodist wedding. There was an "Oh my God" moment.

Trust evaporated since the financial collapse. Employees and customers intuitively have a sense of right and wrong. People have fine tuned their "baloney meters". Would you reveal your weaknesses, your gaps, your failings as an organization? Confess what is wrong, what your intentions are and reach out to employees and clients. Be vulnerable, set aside your title and your position as you reach out. If arrogant, replace with humility. If dismissive, be respectful. Be vulnerable.

Begin with questions inside the organization. What do you know about your top 20% in terms of volume and return to the organization?

Here's the situation. You've worked long and hard, a career path continually rewarding you with more responsibility. The long awaited CEO position is here. You interview and the job is yours. Up to this point you've listened to 3rd party assessments of what is going on in the organization. Its now your problem to find solutions. Its now your watch. Be sure you take the care of a skilled Doctor. Now is the time for an accurate diagnosis of what is going on.

When things are going great in the Lean Six Sigma transformation, that is the time to raise the bar and ask MORE from the organization and the teams as well. This seemingly counter-intuitive approach is outlined in this thought provoking article based on the work of John Kotter.

Did you ever think of the paradox for the leader who finally gets the leadership position they've been working for? It would be natural to feel confident.

Being vulnerable is dicey sometimes. Embracing vulnerability seems counter-intuitive and at odds with Maslow's most basic need of safety. It is surely at odds with belief systems which celebrate the macho tough guy persona.

My first day as CEO was at a time when we had huge losses, employees were angry and felt despair. Moral clarity was chaotic. Bullies established the rules of what was rewarded and what was punished.

Today's economy is causing businesses in the developed countries to deal with issues similar to what businesses in the developing countries face. How do you deal with the possibility of inflation at the unheard of rates of 20%, 30%, 50% or more?

At times, frontline managers need a reality check to remember their role in the organisation. Yes, it is an important one but a supervisor is nothing without a team. The very definition of a manager is leading others.