ArLyne Diamond

I’ve already written that Poka Yoke means “Do it right the first time.”  But, how about doing the right thing?  How much of our time do we spend doing things that are not helping us reach any of our goals?   A lot!   Now, I’m not suggesting we stop having recreation or relaxation – those are [...]

Now, where was I?  Did I do that already?  Oops, I entered those figures twice.  Hold on a minute, I need to finish this.  Oh, damn, I almost hit that car, didn’t see him change lanes.
Aren’t I wonderful, I can do several things at once.  What’s that you say, none of my deliverables are complete?
Well, [...]

What do I mean by “doing more with less” – I mean focus.  We are so busy multi-tasking that we are actually accomplishing less even though we think we are doing twelve things at once.  By paying attention to what you are doing, rather than scattering your attention, you don’t have to come back and [...]

Poka Yoke is the Japanese phrase for “Do it right the first time!”  I love the phrase because I am often telling clients, friends, and children to slow down, put their eyes where their hands are and focus on what they are doing.
All too often I see workers doing one thing, thinking another, and looking [...]

Hi everyone – It’s my turn to blog this week and I am hoping to create two themes. The First: Doing More with Less. The second: Poka Yoke.
So let’s start: As anyone in Project Management knows, you need to balance talent, resources, time and deliverables. How do you accomplish [...]

I just returned from hearing Carly Fiorini (former CEO of HP) speak at Celebrity Forum. She defined leaders as those who made change – who see an opportunity and seize the opportunity.
Leaders have the vision to make changes.  Managers deliver within a set of (I can’t think of her word but mine is – parameters.)  Leaders [...]

Think about Google and Net Apps.  Now think about the Ritz-Carlton Resort-Hotel Chain, Best Buy, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and Wynn Hotels.  What do they all have in common?
It’s how they treat their people.

Technorati Tags: building_relationships, common-sense, everyone-wins, Interpersonal, Leaderhip, management-theory, Professional-Development, soft-skills, What-really-works

I spoke to the Project Management SIG this morning and we talked about handling conflict when managing people from all over the world with different values, expectations, and styles.
The group reminded me that some of the diversity is also about age groups and the way they relate to work and to authority.

Technorati Tags: Conflict & [...]

It’s my birthday.  It’s also the day we inaugurate our Presidents.  We’ve been doing it on January 20th for as many years as I remember (and that’s too many!) 
So why the hype now?  Are we all caught up in the fervor of hope?  Of a new beginning?  Of change?  Of pomp and circumstance?
There’s a message [...]

When we think about creativity, we tend to think about Research and Development and new product/service innovation.
But, why not consider the creative ways in which you can do the ordinary daily work?  Why not create an environment in which employees at all levels can offer suggestions for improvement?
Not merely suggestion boxes, but quality circles in [...]

One of my CEOs recently mentioned that the recession is forcing him to rethink all aspects of his business, including how many employees it takes to do a job.  (Six people to change a light bulb?)
He remarked that he is in the business of clearing out the deadwood and is glad for the excuse to [...]

Hi, It’s my time to blog again – and this is my birthday week – so I am going to take advantage of it and have some fun.
Just to let you know:  I am currently teaching at Keller School of Management.  Teaching several MBA courses which include Leadership & Organizational Development, Business Planning, and International [...]

When researching how creativity and innovation are managed in the workplace, I found a woman who I thought was one of the best examples of the results of creativity.
This lady was a receptionist in one of the lobbies of a huge semiconductor company.  When I sat in the lobby initially I wondered why she would [...]

In classrooms all over the world little children are taught the importance of coloring within the lines.  Indeed, they are often called names like “sloppy” or “careless” if they don’t conform.
In some cultures conformity to the norm (tradition) is everything.  Everyone must toe the line and behave appropriately.  Those that deviate from the norm are [...]

In the past, both here and in my own newsletters (Diamonds to You) I’ve written about the fact that although there is no I in teams, there certainly is a ME.  I want to continue with that theme.  I am quoting myself from my November Newsletter.
Here in the United States, we have a long history [...]

Someone sent me an e-mail the other night reminding me and all his other readers of the benefits of optimism over pessimism.   He’s right.  You tend to get what you expect to get.
So, as a manager, if you expect the worst from your people, the odds are that’s what you’ll get.  They will sense your dislike [...]

OK, so like the rest of us you have now lost headcount, lost other resources and have been told you have to do more with less.  What do you do?
You could have a temper tantrum and shout “It’s not fair.”  I know plenty of managers who are doing the grown-up equivalent of that.
You could quit.  [...]

Over the last few days this week, I described three scenarios and the difficult decisions Project Managers made in each of the three.  In the first, the desire for more responsibility might bery well have led to less effectiveness.

Technorati Tags: Accountability, Career development, Commitment, decisions, Ethics

Patal Fray was Project Manager of a very big and important project for his firm.  He was very proud to have been given this assignment and assured his VP that he would bring it in successfully, on time, if not ahead of time.

Technorati Tags: Accountability, career-planning, critical-success-factors, decisions, Ethics, goals, goodwill, Leadership, management, over-extending, professionalism, [...]

When we think about prejudice, we think about age, sex, race, religion, etc.  But what about yoru reaction and pre-judgments of people whose style is different from your own?  (This is from my February newsletter – ArLyne)

Technorati Tags: cruss-cultural, cultural-differences, Emotions, pre-judging, prejudice

Hi, this is ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D. again.  Here’s the second in my series of scenarios:
While conducting management training for a group of managers at XYZ Corp. they had a change in upper management and the new management was trying to trim costs.  One of the managers consulting with me, let’s call her Sandra, was scared.  [...]