Who will take their place?  This is a question that’s frequently asked when someone resigns from a management position. Even in the best of times, an organization has at most 30 days until the person who resigned leaves. This can be especially challenging in small departments and organizations, as there may be no one currently working who can step into the leadership role. For mid-size and larger companies, that is not the situation. There are…

When he returned to lead Apple, the late Steve Jobs shared with employees that the goal was to make much of what they do obsolete—not the mission of Apple, but the tools and techniques. His belief was that each person and every organization benefits by always being in the mode of continuous improvement. Twenty years ago, I wrote the book Hardwiring Excellence: Purpose, Worthwhile Work, Making a Difference. The Wiktionary dictionary defines hardwire this way: “to connect components…

I was reading an article that stated that when you get a new boss, you get a new job. The point was that when a new boss shows up, things change. I experienced this in one of my jobs. A new boss came in with his own agenda and his own way of doing things. At times, a big change may be what is needed (for example, if the organization is under-performing). However, in most…