Beyond the Tweet

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change management

Walking the Gemba Walk

I took a walk recently through our Personal Lines Operations, Claims and Claims Legal teams at our East Regional Building. They’re working to improve processes, and using Lean techniques to identify and eliminate waste, improve speed for customers and reduce costs. This wasn’t just any walk. It was a Gemba walk – a specific term […]

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Change, Disruption and Opportunities

Service anniversaries are normally really fun events. They give us a chance to congratulate folks for their efforts over time, reminisce a bit, and even roast colleagues for things we’ve shared over years of working together. I attended one, recognizing a long-term employee’s service to the company. When the usual stuff was over (started on […]

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Up, Down, Sideways

At a recent business luncheon and panel discussion, I heard many of the usual questions asked of a CEO. I gave my usual answers – about my career path, about my company and about how we are changing the face of our organization. Afterwards, a young professional approached me. She was a millennial and wanted […]

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YOU are the Culture

What are you doing to create the culture you deserve? I asked leaders at my company this rather pointed question recently, referencing something I wrote about more than two years ago – this battle between culture and strategy. My belief then – and now – is that strategy feeds our culture. (You can read the […]

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Integrity and Using Your Voice for Good

I appreciate the response my blogs have received – particularly on LinkedIn. The comments from my last post about integrity inspired me to write more on this topic – and to connect to another previous topic: Defining moments. When organizations adapt and change quickly, sometimes the path of least resistance leads you to troubling places. […]

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Doing the Right Thing – Even When No One is Watching

In previous blogs, I’ve talked about a number of leadership traits that anyone – at any level – can emulate. These have included courage, passion, getting comfortable being uncomfortable, finding your voice, and humility. These attributes are meaningless, though, without integrity. In simple terms, integrity means avoiding conflicts of interest, following local and federal laws, […]

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Finding Wisdom in the Crowd

If you’ve worked with me, you know I not only have ideas, but I have passion for those ideas. Much earlier in my career, I found my voice, after being guided and coached by a mentor – Darnell Moore. I’ve found Darnell’s advice valuable over my career, and I really think it has allowed me […]

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Find Your Common Goal

Dream big. Work hard. J.J. Watt’s motto drives his play on the field and his charitable work off it. During a recent visit to my company, the two-time NFL defensive player of the year shared a glimpse into where this mantra started. It got me thinking about leadership and the defining moments we all face […]

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Time and Perfection are Our Enemies

In today’s world, we all have plenty on our plates. Between meetings, phone calls, email and project work, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. And customers have a lot on their plates too. They are dealing with changes as well. That’s why it’s more important than ever for leaders to empower their organizations to act, and […]

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The Transparency of Results

I recently traveled to Colorado with my family for a long ski weekend. On the trip home, we paid $110 to check four bags. And, despite having no connections, three of those four bags didn’t show up. Have you experienced this, too? It made me wonder: Is this airline at all concerned with customer value? […]

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