In our industrial economy, it seems efficiency is regularly sparring with quality.  Let’s look at our contestants. Efficiency focuses on production. Quality focuses on value.  Efficiency’s priority is what is best for those who deliver. Quality’s is what’s best for those being served.  Efficiency emphasizes doing things faster and cheaper. Quality emphasizes doing the right … Continue reading Efficiency or quality?

I went on a trip where I saw—or at minimum, it appeared like—true service.  True service is where the person delivering wants to help rather than just doing it because they have to. It’s the difference between getting a birthday gift with some thought—and feeling—behind it and getting one that is a cold obligation. The … Continue reading True Service Versus the Placebo

I read this the other day: “Only 50% of working people feel they’re doing meaningful work.” Sad. It means 50% of people go off to work every day thinking the work they spend so much time doing is pointless in the grand scheme of things. We hear a lot of talk about meaningful work and … Continue reading Meaningful work!?

In the movie Annie Hall, there’s a great scene where Woody Allen and Dianne Keaton are sitting on a park bench making funny comments about passersby. It’s people watching, and it got me thinking. My wife and I people-watch, but unlike Allen and Keaton, we don’t so much comment as wonder.  I wonder where they … Continue reading Wonder

“Who questions much, shall learn much, and retain much.” -Francis Bacon I was training someone once, and they asked, "If I get stuck, how will I know what to do?" My response? "Ask. Just ask." Questions are powerful. They allow us to learn. They are the fuel for invention. They send a message (“You matter, … Continue reading Questions