All Features
Jeetu Patel
In recent years, pretty much every assumption about how, where, and when we work has been upended. But I believe we’re still at just the beginning of a revolution in hybrid work.
Today, there’s a clear opportunity for organizations to step into the next wave of working, supported by even better…
Michael Okrent
Want a new car? You may have to wait as long as six months, depending on the model you order. Looking for a spicy condiment? Supplies of sriracha hot sauce have been running dangerously low. And if you feed your cat or dog dry pet food, expect empty shelves or elevated prices.
These aren’t…
Mark Rosenthal
Once again I’m going through old files. Looking back at my notes from 2005, I believe I was thinking about nailing these points to a church door somewhere in the company. That actually isn’t a bad analogy because I was advocating a pretty dramatic shift in the role of the kaizen workshop leaders.…
Adam Grant
Even before the pandemic, burnout was labeled as an epidemic. It’s the persistent work-related stress that’s exhausting and impairing. In the U.S., more than half of employees feel burned out at least some of the time, and it can lead to what has recently been termed “quiet quitting”—reduced…
Jeff Dewar
In this third installment of our five-part series, we talk with Jim Templin, CEO of ASQE.
Yes, you read that right, ASQE. As in ASQ Excellence. It’s an entirely new legal entity connected at the hip to the ASQ we all know and love. It’s a trade organization that other organizations can belong to,…
Isaac Maw
Automation provides opportunities for new, more efficient workflows and better resource use in manufacturing. Despite a long history of fears concerning job losses brought on by automation, these anxieties aren’t typically reflected in reality.
To learn more about the best ways to upskill workers…
Tom Taormina
It’s a conundrum that faces everyone who operates a manufacturing or service business: Most are unaware of the dire consequences of a defect reaching a customer until a process server hands them a lawsuit. By then it’s too late. Regardless of the outcome, the people and businesses will be…
Pat Toth
In an earlier article in this series, “Cybersecurity and Industry 4.0: What You Need to Know,” we discussed the four aspects of Industry 4.0: cyber-physical systems (CPS)/cobots, internet of things (IoT), cloud manufacturing, and automation, as well as how they are interconnected. Strong…
Patrick Hardy
Responding to disasters is one of the most important activities that employees can be asked to grapple with. From natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes to technological situations such as power outages, chemical spills, and transportation accidents, as well as security emergencies like…
Harry Hertz
In a recent blog of mine about CEO challenges and opportunities in 2022, the first opportunity listed was to determine how to make a difference.
As stated, employees, customers, and investors want to associate with organizations that serve a larger purpose (emphasis added) than may be expressed in…
Dirk Dusharme @ Quality Digest
Every company wants to succeed, but not all can say they meet the current requirements to do that. More than a focus on capital, business plans, or staff, a successful business in 2022 must operate digitally. Yet for the 45 percent of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that still rely on…
Matthias Gouthier
The ISO Foresight Trend Report highlights global trends across multiple industries that will shape strategic decision making for a better future. Drawing upon these insights, ISO reflects on some of the potential areas for standardization work. In a series of feature articles, we unpack some of the…
Angie Basiouny
When Wharton management professor Matthew Bidwell first came to the U.S. from England in the 1990s, he was struck by the dogged American work ethic.
“It was a culture that was much more organized around work than in the UK,” he recalls. “When I was growing up, there wasn’t quite the same heroism…
Claire Zulkey
A boss who overloads you with information may be frustrating, but one who leaves you in the dark may come off as uncaring.
That’s the key finding from a new study that examines how employees perceive managers who assume that less is more when it comes to communicating at work.
After reviewing…
John Logan
Labor Day 2022 came smack-bang in the middle of what is increasingly looking like a pivotal year in the history of American unions.
The summer saw a steady stream of workforce mobilizations. Employees at Trader Joe’s locations in Massachusetts and Minneapolis both voted to unionize. Meanwhile,…
Libby Sander
Telstra and Westpac are the latest companies to encourage staff to work from home, just a few months after some of them returned to the office. However, working from home for extended periods can leave employees feeling socially and professionally isolated. When people work from home, they have…
Matt Fieldman
You’ve heard the questions from your manufacturing colleagues: “Where are all the good people these days?” “Why don’t people want to work anymore?” and, “Why can’t people show up on time and ready to work?”
During a recent seminar at the City Club of Cleveland, I learned that there are eight…
Lisa Wong Macabasco
The underrepresentation of women at the top of corporate America is a persistent and exasperating problem. Women currently hold 32 CEO positions in S&P 500 companies—slightly more than 6 percent of the total.
“We have all this knowledge on stereotypes and the biases and challenges people face…
Lite Nartey
George Bernard Shaw famously quipped that “the single biggest problem in communications is the illusion that it has taken place.” This is often the case when it comes to interactions between firms and stakeholders. Organizations need to improve communication with key actors to foster trust, enhance…
Bruce Hamilton
I responded recently to a LinkedIn post regarding AI-assisted robotic recycling. The sorting speed is so fast, we almost miss each sort in the blink of an eye. Having observed this same activity attempted by humans—and overlooking the upstream potential to avoid this kind of recycling mess at the…
Mark Mortensen, Heidi K. Gardner
At WD-40 Co., there are no teams. Instead, there are tribes. Tribe members look out for one another, feel a sense of belonging, and share the company’s values and vision. Compassion is at the heart of WD-40’s work culture, which strives to create a community of highly engaged employees who deliver…
Gleb Tsipursky
Recently, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon claimed that returning to the office will help improve diversity. If he’s right, that’s an important argument for office-centric work. After all, extensive research shows that improving diversity boosts both decision-making and financial performance.
Yet does…
Meridith Wentz, Kevin Wilkinson, Gary Zack
The purpose of this article is to highlight actions that organizational leaders can implement to help improve organizational resilience and sustainability. Building on the case study, “Using the Baldrige Framework to Improve Organizational Resilience and Sustainability” by Garfield et al (2022), we…
Alexander Mirza
As a double immigrant who worked his way through high school and university, I’m a big believer in the lifelong benefits of working on the front line of a service business early in life.
One of my first front-line jobs was in the retail sector working at one of the biggest sports stores in Toronto…
Corey Binns
You don’t need to fly all the way to Hawaii to find your happy place. You might not need to go any farther than your desk chair.
If employees see opportunity for change in both themselves and their jobs, and they put in the time and effort, happiness awaits, according to new research by Justin…
