In a Harvard Business Review article titled “The Power of Mattering at Work,” the authors introduced a profound way to help your teammates realize that their work matters. They labeled the concept laddering. This concept originated when NASA was trying to put a man on the moon. One of NASA’s leaders, Owen Maynard, wrote on blackboards, “Ladder to the Moon.” ...
When I first started in banking I was accepted into a management training program. Young college graduates were given exposure to all facets of the bank, giving us the opportunity to discover our best job fit for the future. Their concept was a good way to match people’s interests and passions with the area of the bank where they ...
According to a 2023 American Psychology Association study, 94% of workers state that it’s important for them to feel like they belong at work. Unfortunately, 20% of workers do not feel like they belong. This is a bigger problem for front-line workers than it is for upper management. 10% of upper management feel like they don’t belong, but that ...
In the 1950s, the Philadelphia police referred to the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday, due to all the people starting their Christmas shopping. A negative day for police, however, became a great day financially for merchants. Eventually, marketing savvy merchants became concerned about attaching a negative term like Black Friday to their best sales day. These merchants changed the ...
As a kid, baseball was my favorite sport. When we played backyard baseball, we often argued over who was going to pitch. What was best for the team, however, was not having me as pitcher. It was better when I played second base or shortstop. In business, God has created each of us with different gifts. We may try ...
When I was in public accounting, Wyatt was the least respected partner in the firm due to his inferior accounting skills. But he effectively recruited new clients, so Wyatt kept getting promoted. Sometimes there was jealousy from the other partners and staff. Their accounting help on Wyatt’s clients often went unrecognized. 1 Corinthians 12:24 teaches, “But God has put the ...
As a linear and organized thinker, I have been frustrated at times with creative freeform thinkers. There was a time when I was frustrated with one creative person on my team. It seemed like we were always at odds. Then we took some personality profiles as a team. After seeing this person’s profile, I realized that God had made this ...
As our ministry began to grow, one of the hardest hiring decisions for me was hiring a bookkeeper. As a former CPA, I can do bookkeeping. But there were two questions I had to ask myself. The first was, “Is bookkeeping the best use of my time?” The second was, “Where does God want me to spend my time?” After ...
Early in my former consulting practice, a friend convinced me I needed to hire a salesperson. Weeks later, I hired Steve. The first call Steve went with me on was to a company that I knew desperately needed our help. But I had never closed the deal. That day, Steve told the prospect. “I’m not leaving until you sign a ...
My new friend, Andy, was leading a training with a company on how they can better hire and value the disabled. The diversity of thought and value they can bring to a workplace is often overlooked. Andy asked the group to draw a star. Everyone in the class except one person drew a star as they might see in the ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
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