Category: Business

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Business motivation

The Upwardly Immobile

gray trunk green leaf tree beside body of water
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At one time, Japan was considered the world economy to compete with. Today, while it is still a world leader, it has struggled. A quote from The Essential Drucker caused me to pause and consider it may be because of the upwardly immobile.

Peter Drucker quote on the upwardly immobile Japanese

When he wrote this, he realized Japan’s economy would have to change because lifetime employment made it nearly impossible for knowledge workers to move and adapt.

But it appears that hasn’t happened. Japan continues to struggle with deflation and stagnation. The failure to change has come at a great cost to the nation.

What made Japan a success for over fifty years has become a liability. When we cannot, or refuse to change, our past successes become a liability and burden.

Mobility is more than the freedom to move from Indiana to Florida or maybe even Arizona!

A farmer looks at a saguaro cactus with corn characteristics

It is the willingness to change and try different things. The upwardly immobile is an oxymoron. No matter our age, let’s continue to be part of the upwardly mobile.

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Business motivation

Habitually Practicing Effectiveness

group of people in art exhibit
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Too often, we believe that to be effective at anything is a natural gift. And while it’s true some of us are gifted in administration, visionary leadership, or charisma, it still takes effective practice to get anything done.

"Effectiveness, in other words, is a habit; that is, a complex of practices. And pratices can always be learned" Peter Drucker in "The Essential Drucker"

What do you mean we have to practice being effective? Peter Drucker addresses this in the book. He equates it to the musician playing scales. It’s getting to the basics and doing the hard work.

Manual workers need only to be efficient. Knowledge workers can only be effective if they are efficient at the right things.

For me, that leads me to consider what is effective communication in the information age. And what does it look like to effectively communicate to internal and external audiences.

As I start the work week, I am asking myself, “How can I be most effective to my organiztion?” Perhaps, I should ask that at each start of the week.

So how about you? How are you habitually practiving effectiveness?

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Business Quotes

Bigger Isn’t Always Better

Quote by Peter Drucker: "It is not necessary of a business to grow bigger; but it is necessary that it constantly grow better." from "The Essential Drucker: The best of Sixty years of Peter Drucker's Essential Writings on Management

We see annoying billboards touting that size matters. Various businesses try to convince us that only a massive dinosaur of a company can provide the service or product we deserve. They will have us assume that bigger firms are always better.

It’s the measure of success. We admire industry titans like John D. Rockefeller, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk. The size of the companies they founded is almost as important as the profits they produced.

But anyone who has ever tried to contact a live person at a massive, unresponsive business or organization knows that isn’t the case. At the beginning of The Essential Drucker, Peter Drucker asks us to consider that bigger isn’t always better.

Bigger isn't always better: a quote by Peter Drucker: "It is not necessary of a business to grow bigger; but it is necessary that it constantly grow better." from "The Essential Drucker: The best of Sixty years of Peter Drucker's Essential Writings on Management
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Business motivation Quotes

Why is Humility Good Business?

A quote from The Millionaire Mind, by Thomas Stanley, answered my question, “Why is humility good business?” The author interviewed an entrepreneur that owns and runs an auto junkyard. He asked the owner what made him successful.

The owner replied that at first, he got a lot of pushback from his family. he said his mother asked him, “Anyone can own a junkyard. Why did you go to college—not to own junk!”

Yet, this owner was a deca-millionaire. The author noted that many people overlook opportunities because social status and concern about appearances keep many from noticing opportunities. That led to Thomas Stanley’s quote:

"Snobs do not make great entrepreneurs." Thomas Stanley Why is humility good for Business
From The Millionaire Mind by Thomas Stanley
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An Open Door Policy

What does an open-door policy do, exactly? I do have one at my work. There are times when I need to close the door for a meeting or to avoid interruptions. And I would say, for the most part, it has been good. But is it always the best policy?

“An open-door policy doesn’t do much for a closed mind.”

Bob Nelson
Cartoon of two boys at a front door

When I drew this cartoon, My office was a cubicle. Every cubicle worker knows the door is always open when there is no door. Interruptions are the norm. And it has changed the workplace dramatically. If a manager keeps the door closed, they are seen as aloof and unapproachable.

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