RockBlog
Leadership Tune Up - Part Five
Posted by Bruce W. Woolpert on Wed, March 18th, 2015, 8:16 am
No Fear of Repercussions for Mistakes.Every creative or innovative change carries with it risk that it won’t work, and if it doesn’t work, our fear is that our action will be viewed as folly. Embarrassment is a valid concern for people. When that embarrassment comes as a result of making an honest mistake, the manager’s actions are viewed as horribly dishonest. People learn best by doing and making mistakes. If people are concerned about potential embarrassment, ... Read More
Leadership Tune Up - Part Four
Posted by Bruce W. Woolpert on Wed, March 18th, 2015, 8:16 am
Performance Measurement Performance measurement fuels organizational improvement and forward progress. What gets measured gets done. If objective measurement isn’t possible, then do the best you can with a subjective measurement tool. At Graniterock, we have nine Corporate Objectives important to Graniterock’s future success. We do a better job supporting the achievement of our objectives when we spend more time thinking about better measures of how well we are doing. Performance measures are working if continuous improvement ... Read More
Economic Outlook from Comerica Bank
Posted by Bruce W. Woolpert on Wed, March 18th, 2015, 8:16 am
ECONOMIC UPDATE… Robert Dye, Ph.D., Chief Economist at Comerica Bank provided his outlook for the U. S. Economy yesterday morning: U.S. will emerge from the 2012 election with a plan and mandate for federal budget reform. Unemployment rate will steadily decrease to below 8% at year-end butnot for a good reason; unemployment will lower because more people stop looking for work. Europe will continue to muddle through its banking and financial situation, avoiding a crisis. European ... Read More
Leadership Tune Up - Part Three
Posted by Bruce W. Woolpert on Wed, March 18th, 2015, 8:16 am
Telling the Truth – Even When It’s Not Popular.Especially around elections, it seems that few people running for national office offer true integrity. Integrity requires more than telling the truth. It also requires explaining things to people with sufficient truthful detail that they can make their own well-informed decisions. When decisions are made, telling the truth means explaining the decisions -- even the unpleasant parts most of us don’t really like to hear. Leadership is not ... Read More
Leadership Tune Up - Part Two
Posted by Bruce W. Woolpert on Wed, March 18th, 2015, 8:16 am
Doing What Is Right. Team members occasionally face real-life challenges and concerns at home or work that need a manager’s involvement or at least support. There is often a difference between what is found in policies and doing what the manager knows is the right thing to do under particular circumstances. People want and expect their specific concerns to be understood and dealt with.Treating every similar situation the same – the broad paint brush approach -- ... Read More
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa…
Posted by Bruce W. Woolpert on Wed, March 18th, 2015, 8:16 am
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa…There was a letter written to a New York newspaper in 1897 by a little girl who worried. “I am 8 years old,” wrote Virginia O”Hanlon to the New York Sun. “Some of my friends say there is no Santa Claus.” Papa says, “if you see it in the Sun it‟s so. Please tell me the truth. Is there a Santa Claus?”-------------------------------Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected ... Read More
Leadership Tune Up - First of a Series
Posted by Bruce W. Woolpert on Wed, March 18th, 2015, 8:16 am
Managers can occasionally benefit from a leadership “tune-up” The outside world may push us slightly off track. Like maintaining the precise operation of a high performance engine, organizational leaders need to stop occasionally to push the reset button. The leadership engine is running, but is it running most effectively? There are small skill-alignment tweaks to be made that greatly enhance organizational performance and help leaders to feel successful with the difficult work they do. Many of ... Read More
MORE ECONOMIC NEWS…
Posted by Bruce W. Woolpert on Wed, March 18th, 2015, 8:16 am
MORE ECONOMIC NEWS…Factories are producing more. Construction is growing. Americans are buying more cars. The holiday shopping season is off to a strong start. Normally, all that would suggest a bright outlook for the economy. However, the problem continues to be that the economy isn‟t growing fast enough to require employers to hire more people.The unemployment rate remains high and the European debt crisis continues to pose a significant risk to the world economy. While retail ... Read More
California Employment Report
Posted by Bruce W. Woolpert on Wed, March 18th, 2015, 8:16 am
CALIFORNIA EMPLOYMENT REPORT…Through October, the unemployment rate has declined over the year in 53 California counties. The largest rate decrease was in San Benito County (down 2.7 percentage points to 11.6%). Modoc County was the only county to experience an increase in unemployment. Counties with the lowest unemployment rates (those below 10%) continue to include: Marin (7.4%), San Mateo (8.0%), San Francisco (8.3%), Napa (8.5%), Orange (8.6%), Santa Barbara (8.6%), Inyo (9.2%), San Luis Obispo (9.3%), ... Read More
Economic Update
Posted by Bruce W. Woolpert on Wed, March 18th, 2015, 8:16 am
ECONOMIC UPDATE…Recent economic data in the period of time just before Thanksgiving was generally positive. Here are some October economic statistics: The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index increased 0.9% inOctober, which was significantly better than the 0.1% increase in September. Retail sales climbed 0.5% in October. Sales of electronics and building supplies led the way as retail sales increased for the fifth consecutive month. Industrial production rose 0.7% in October, thanks to a 3.1% increase in ... Read More
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