management
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How to Lead Multigenerational Ownership Companies
- June 17, 2026
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Leadership, Management
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It can be hard to run a company when you’re dealing with the third and fourth generation of ownership. I’m talking about the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the founder. When someone founds a company, they put everything into it. Late nights, missed vacations, missed weekends. A lot of sacrifices go into starting and running a
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How Emotional Intelligence Can Improve Leadership Effectiveness
- June 10, 2026
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Leadership, Management
Emotional intelligence (EI) can make or break your effectiveness as a leader. Technical skills alone won’t cut it. In fact, according to the Peter Principle — that’s where you’re promoted to your level of incompetence — there is a very good chance you won’t be effective as a leader anyway. But it’s not your fault.
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Emotional Intelligence: The Leadership Skill Nobody Teaches
- June 3, 2026
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Leadership
I’ve worked in manufacturing long enough to see the same story play out over and over. A company has a great employee. Maybe it’s the best machinist in the plant. Maybe it’s the engineer everyone calls when a machine goes down. Or it’s the maintenance tech who can hear a strange noise in a gearbox
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Don’t Build Factories for Promises
- May 20, 2026
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management
Over the years, I’ve watched companies spend themselves into trouble because they confused optimism with strategy. The conversation starts the same way: A customer says, “If you build a facility closer to us…” or “If you invest in this equipment…” or “If you manufacture locally…” They’ll assure you the business will be there. It sounds
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Developing Executive Presence: What Sets Great Leaders Apart
- March 26, 2025
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Leadership, Management
Great leaders are great communicators. They don’t just spew all the leadership bon mots that they memorized from the leadership course they went on last week, and they had better not get their inspiration from those damn posters! Instead, you need something of a personality, and you need to be really, truly interested in the
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Manage Upward: How to Influence Those Above You in the Org Chart
- March 19, 2025
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Leadership, Management
A lot of leadership blogs all talk about the same thing: How do you motivate your staff? How do you get them to buy into your vision? How do you make them do what you want them to do? But how do you influence those people who are above you in the organizational chart? How
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How to Avoid Micromanaging Your Employees
- March 5, 2025
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Management
Micromanagers are some of the worst managers there are. They get bogged down in the details that, if we’re being honest, should no longer concern them. Managers should be executing visions and motivating employees, not on the front line, producing and counting widgets, or performing the functions of the people who work under them. A
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The Happiest I’ve Ever Made a Customer
- February 19, 2025
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Innovation
I’ve been answering questions this month about the angriest a customer has ever been at us or the biggest career mistake I’ve ever made. So now let’s talk about how happy I’ve made a customer. Years ago, Texas utility companies were offering big credits and rebates to their customers for switching out their old industrial
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The Biggest Professional Mistake I Ever Made
- February 12, 2025
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management
We’ve all made big mistakes during our careers. Not just the little “oops” moments like a late report or missed deadline, but the big mistake that you’re sure is going to derail your career and see you switch to becoming an insurance claims adjuster. While I never switched my career, I did end up switching
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The Angriest a Customer Has Ever Been at Me
- February 5, 2025
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management, Manufacturing
You can’t go through your business life without a customer getting angry at you. The thing that defines you is how you deal with that problem. Do you fix it, ignore it, or twist it around so it’s the customer’s fault and you can wash your hands of the entire problem? I remember an incident