Since 1980, I have been working in organizational development. In that time, I have seen lot of managers and CEOs working hard to develop systems and operations that would create a successful and profitable company. The irony was that the systems and operations had little to do with their success. The real key was the working and management environment of the employees operating the systems.

During any interaction with an employee, the customer will decide if this is a good place to do business. Oddly enough, they may not particularly remember the employee singularly, but will remember the company, or the department that employee represents, by how that employee treats them. A part of the successful interaction with the customer is attributed to how each department, and every employee in that department, understands their role in the show.

In the most successful companies, there is an understanding by the manager of the working environment they create for the employee. If the employees are in a non-supportive environment with a lot of criticism and no praise, then that is how they will treat each other and the customer. But, if the manager is able to set up a supportive environment that encourages the people to want to work well together, do the job as designed, and, when necessary, empowered go above and beyond to take care of the customer, then the customer is delighted and the company wins.

A lot of the ideas I will present through these pages are based on the above attitudes, a result of a wonderful life spent meeting some very special people and having some very unique experiences. In my work with all types of companies and industries, a common thread I see is the recognition of the importance of the employee and the importance of (or the effect of) the working relationship the manager creates with the employees to build a strong department or company.

I will be continuously adding to this index.