management
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A Person Who Feels Appreciated Will Do More Than What Is Expected
- May 12, 2021
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Management, Productivity
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If you ever want to get extra work and effort out of someone, plus earn their loyalty and dedication, you should never do it through fear, intimidation, or even monetary reward. (Although that last one can be effective for a short while. And that’s as a bonus for their work, not their regular salary.) The
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Three Lessons Manufacturers Should Have Learned from the Pandemic
- April 28, 2021
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Management, Manufacturing
The COVID-19 pandemic certainly brought the world to a crashing halt, especially manufacturers. Companies that continued working were either considered essential manufacturers or they had pivoted and were making things like ventilators. We weren’t able to start working from home or working remotely. We had to be onsite, working in wide-open spaces, and trying to
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Why You Need to Hire Outside Experts
- April 14, 2021
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Management, Safety
When I got involved with Robroy back in 1995, they had many environmental problems. They had just gotten out of the galvanizing business, which has an awful lot of hazardous waste to deal with. It’s an environmental nightmare. I had (and still have) zero experience in environmental matters and environmental rules change on a minute-to-minute
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A Crisis Really Determines What Kind of Leader You Are
- March 24, 2021
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Leadership, Management
“In a crisis, don’t hide behind anything or anybody. They’re going to find you anyway.” — Bear Bryant, former Alabama football coach. The way you handle a crisis shows what kind of leader you are. Are you like many other executives who are afraid and hide in their office? Do you send out your PR
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Working Remotely Can Stifle Professional Development
- January 13, 2021
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management, Productivity
I’ve said over the past few years that I’ve never been a big fan of working remotely. And even though current circumstances have forced most office workers to work from home or work from socially-distant coworking spaces, I still think it’s essential that we return to the office as soon as it’s safe to do
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Dealing with the Fallout of Bad Managers
- December 23, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management
I’ve always said, “Hire slow, fire fast,” and that’s served me well on a number of occasions. It helps me avoid hiring people who will be bad for an organization, and in those rare instances that someone slips through the cracks, I don’t spend weeks and months agonizing about the problem as they slowly infect
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Manufacturers, Focus on Recovery and Grooming the Workforce for 2021
- December 9, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management
I recently read an article in the Hartford (Connecticut) Business Journal (as one does, when you live in Central Texas) recommending that manufacturers should focus on recovery, technology, and grooming the workforce in 2021. While the numbers are specific to Connecticut, they represent a larger trend in the United States. Their big concern in January
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Building Relationships and Partnerships are More Important Than a Transaction
- November 11, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management
An email from my friend, Richard Croyner, reminded me about some advice I had given about how building relationships and partnerships are more important than transactions. He said, “I have spent 35 years in the transportation and supply chain industry and so many people look at this segment of business as a transaction — you
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How Can You Adapt to Change During a Weird Time Like This?
- October 14, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Management, Productivity
I’ve been asked, during the pandemic-induced recession, how companies can and should adapt to change and keep up with everything that’s going on in the world. How can they pivot? How can they evolve? How can they morph into something that can take advantage of this “new normal.” Believe it or not, there is a
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Win Trust of Your Associates If You Want to Make Technology Changes
- October 7, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Leadership, Management
I recently read a story on IndustryWeek.com that has elements that should be familiar to anyone in manufacturing management. Years ago in Detroit, the author, John Sobel, and his company installed a system that used AI and machine vision to examine the tailgates for any quality problems. To spot defects, the tailgates had to be