Small teams don’t have time to waste. Resources are tight, priorities compete, and the idea of “data-driven decisions” often sounds great, until you’re knee-deep in dashboards and spreadsheets with no clear next step. I’ve seen it firsthand. Numbers get collected because we’re supposed to collect them. Reports are built because someone requests them. But what’s […]
From Data to Action: A Playbook for Small Teams Read More »
Every organization has pieces of a system. Weekly meetings here, annual planning there, maybe a dashboard or two scattered around. But the difference between pieces and a system is the difference between noise and music. Over a year ago, I had the opportunity to help a healthcare organization move from “pieces” to a true Business
Connecting the Dots: How a BOS Creates Clarity and Motion Read More »
Imagine if your favourite NFL coach ran your Monday morning ops meeting (yes, that would be Mike MacDonald or maybe Chuck Knox from days gone by). There’d be energy. There’d be clarity. There’d probably be intensity. But above all, there would be structure. Because in football, especially in the NFL, reviewing performance is sacred. It’s
Operating Cadence in The NFL Read More »
One of the most common frustrations I hear from operations leaders, especially in fast-growing companies, is this: “I know my teams are working hard. But I can’t see where the effort is going. And finance is on my case.” This story starts in that exact spot. A tech company on the rise. A capable ops
Hard Work Isn’t the Problem – Blind Spots Are Read More »
Have you ever been pushed in a toboggan or sled, that starts slow, then suddenly it’s going 60 kilometers/hour and you’re hanging on for dear life, trying not to crash into two little three year-olds at the bottom of the hill, or worse, the oncoming truck that’s on the road just past the hill? That,
Scaling Fast, Steering Blind Read More »
Meetings can sometimes be the bane of a leader’s existence (whether they should be is another story). The one meeting that I’ve found to have the most impact on culture, engagement, and, yes, performance, is the simple morning meeting. Whether it’s called a pre-shift, morning startup (or standup), or “the daily”, it helps to ensure
Have you ever tried to walk across a freshly waxed floor in socks? That’s not just your lack of grace and coordination (yes, or mine). 🙂 That’s physics. Specifically, friction is taking a coffee break. Friction is one of those everyday miracles we love to hate. Like alarm clocks. Or deadlines. Or the corner piece
The Drag We Never Knew We Needed Read More »
Picture this: you’re preparing for the annual work summer BBQ. Off to the grocery store you go, and after the purchases, you’re pushing a shopping cart with a stuck wheel through an uneven parking lot, loaded with 60 pounds of bottled water and one ripe watermelon. You’re giving it everything you’ve got, but it barely
Why Your Business Isn’t Moving? Read More »
There’s a law in physics that’s always stuck with me, probably because it doesn’t just apply to thermodynamics, but to everything from businesses to relationships to processes and culture. It’s the Second Law of Thermodynamics, and it says this: Entropy never decreases in a closed system. In plain business terms? Without intentional input, things fall
Energy Will Beat Entropy – Every Time Read More »
There’s something oddly satisfying about building a dashboard. You pull together the right data feeds or build the right code. Add some charts. Pick a clean layout. Maybe even colour-code a few KPIs. Give it a round of testing. The team logs in. They nod at the numbers. And then… nothing happens. No decisions occur.
Why Most Dashboards Don’t Drive Change Read More »
