Do you think that most “people skills” training is a waste of money because nothing changes after the training? Do you ever wonder why so much behavior-focused “training” doesn’t stick? Or why someone agrees to change their behavior and really means it – but then they slip back to the “old” behavior that was a… Continue Reading
March 15, 2017
The 6 Major Reasons Why “People Skills” Training Doesn’t Work – and 6 Action Steps to Fix It
Has this ever happened to you? Your company decides you need to attend a workshop to get enhanced or improved “people skills” on topics like team building or conflict resolution. Or, it might be training about getting along better with others or something like that. And, you start to feel frustrated and, sometimes, even resentful. “Here we go… Continue Reading
May 2, 2016
“No Respect”: 3 Factors Influencing Why IT Often Doesn’t Get Respect Within the Corporation – and What to Do About It
What’s up with the Information Technology (IT) department in most companies? Even though they provide a valuable service, they often face challenges in getting the appropriate recognition and respect for their efforts and contributions, in the past or in the present. To understand this better – and to do something about it – it helps… Continue Reading
July 7, 2015
How Email Might Be Hurting Your Business
Email is not communication. Instead, it is rapidly facilitating the erosion and breakdown of effective communication. Especially within larger companies. Here’s why. The technology is seductive. Because it is so easy to use and so immediate, it has seduced us into thinking that when we email someone, we’re actually communicating with them. Which is not… Continue Reading
June 8, 2015
For Your Convenience. Easy-to-Scroll List of Every Breakthrough Management Blog
We’ve added a new feature for you at the Breakthrough Management blog. An easy to scan, complete list of every blog we’ve written – by title. It’s alphabetical and easily scrollable. If you’d like, simply click here to see the complete list… https://btmgmt.net/blog-archive/ It will be automatically updated with each new post. There is also an… Continue Reading
May 25, 2015
“Why Am I Here?” (and 4 More Questions You Might Ask About Your Job)
If you’re struggling a bit with your job these days and perhaps asking yourself questions, they are most likely to include at least one of the 5 powerful questions that help frame you and your job. Whether you are an employee or a manager, they are critical. Research shows that in high performing business cultures,… Continue Reading
March 4, 2015
Why People Don’t Do What You Want Them to Do – Part 4. Organizational Issues
In Parts 1 to 3 of this blog series, we focused on 3 of the 4 causes of why people don’t do what you want them to do at work. In this blog, we focus on a fourth cause – Organizational issues. That’s because there are only 4 potential causes why someone doesn’t do what you… Continue Reading
February 26, 2015
Why People Don’t Do What You Want Them to Do – Part 3. Goals and/or Communication
In Part 1 and 2 of this blog series, we focused on two of the 4 causes why people don’t do what you want them to do at work. In this blog, we focus on a third cause – Goals and/or Communications. That’s because there are only 4 potential causes of why someone doesn’t do… Continue Reading
February 17, 2015
Why People Don’t Do What You Want Them to Do – Part 2. Skills and/or Knowledge
In Part 1 of this blog series, we focused on Motivation as one of the 4 causes of why people don’t do what you want them to do at work. In this blog, we focus on a possible second cause. Skills and/or Knowledge. That’s because there are only 4 potential causes why someone doesn’t do… Continue Reading
February 3, 2015
The 7 Things That Belong in Your Personnel File
HR professionals often ask us what we expect to see in a Personnel file and our answer is always the same regardless of the business. It’s all about making sure the file includes the necessary documents that support the function (job) and help grow the person in that function. Specifically, documents that comprehensively and properly… Continue Reading
January 29, 2015
How to Write A Good Job Description
Most Job Descriptions these days are nothing more than thinly disguised Recruiting Documents. The lines have become blurred between them. It’s important to notice this distinction because a Recruiting Document is all about trying to hire the right person for the job and a Job Description is all about giving the person clarity about their… Continue Reading
December 8, 2014
Why Job Descriptions Are Really Important
If you don’t have a current job description – that you’ve looked at and reviewed in the last 90 days with your manager – then the truth is that you don’t know what your job is and your manager doesn’t know what to manage. That might sound like a nervy statement. But it’s so important,… Continue Reading
November 23, 2014
One Thing That Successful People Usually Have in Common
Successful and super-successful people nearly always have one thing in common. They all behave out of a natural sense of urgency. Here’s what this means… They just do more of the little things they don’t like doing, more often than the people who don’t. That’s it. Do you think this would make a difference for your… Continue Reading
July 21, 2014
3 Reasons Why You Agree When You Don’t Want to Agree – At Work
Why do we agree with someone when we really don’t want to agree? What makes us say “yes” when we really want to say “no”? What are the causes of these behaviors? It all starts by understanding how we operate out of the 3 main circles of influence in our lives. They are Business, Social,… Continue Reading
July 16, 2014
Corporate Culture and Why It Can Derail Strategy
Management guru Peter Drucker said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. Here’s what he meant and here’s why it’s important. To grow, businesses need strategy. They need to figure out what to do about market share, competition, change, and customer and client needs. To do this, they spend a lot of time and money. Then, when it… Continue Reading
July 8, 2014
The Powerful Manager – Dangers and Opportunities
“The more powerful the manager, the less likely he or she was to take advice.” That’s what the researchers say in “Kidding Ourselves”, the latest book from Pulitzer Prize winning author Joseph Hallinan. They also say that “power tends to diminish perception and perspective…”. In other words, it narrows the scope and the focus of… Continue Reading
April 11, 2014
3 More Things Men Can Learn From Women in Business
Men need to start paying even more attention to women. Here’s why… Nearly 50% of all medical students are women. Nearly 60% of biology degrees are awarded to women, including graduate degrees. And, nearly 50% of all people in law school are women. In other words, male dominated industries have changed forever. What’s going on… Continue Reading
March 10, 2014
How to Avoid a Dilbert Culture
The famous comic strip, Dilbert, is a brilliant look into the dysfunctional world of business, where apathy and incompetence reign. It’s so popular because readers everywhere see reflections of things and situations in this cartoon culture that resonate in their own business world. Most of us laugh at the cartoon. But when it happens for… Continue Reading
November 21, 2013
Decision Making Simplified
Most of us make decisions hundreds of times a day. Although some are easy and some are difficult, the truth is that the decision making process that goes on in our heads follows the same principles for all of us. Let’s break this down. There are only three kinds of decisions that we ever make…. Continue Reading
November 1, 2013
Do You Feel Valued, Supported, Safe and…
At Breakthrough Management, our experience consistently tells us that people consider their managers to be effective when they walk away from any interaction with their manager, holding this lasting impression… “I have been listened to, I have been heard, I feel valued, supported, safe, and cared for. I am growing and being grown.”
October 24, 2013
If You Are a Manager, When is Your Job Done?
If you are a manager, you know your job is done when all of the people who directly report to you are impeccable self-managers and are all over-qualified to do their jobs. This means you will have essentially worked yourself out of a job because the people now manage themselves effectively and can all do… Continue Reading
May 13, 2013
Our Definition of Management
Our definition of Management is: “More than anything else, managers must have the ability to grow good people who can grow good people.” In the final analysis, it’s all about growing people. This inevitably to leads to more competence, greater loyalty, and enhanced collaboration and retention.
January 21, 2013
The Biggest Cause Of Business Failure
What is the biggest ongoing cause of business failure in North America, today? If someone asked you, what would you say? Based on our experience, most people would answer that it was the result of one or more of these 3 factors – not enough opportunity, not enough resources or not enough talent. However, it… Continue Reading