LEARN A LITTLE:Thinking About Strategic Planning I have been a fan of strategic planning for many years. In fact, that has been the case long before I thought an organization should have a strategic plan, and before the organization I was affiliated with developed...

LEARN A LITTLE:When Enough is Enough I worked for the state of Illinois within the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities department for nearly 20 years in a variety of administrative positions. Up to the near end of that time, I enjoyed what I was doing and...

LEARN A LITTLE: Thinking About Words of Advice Reference Note: this month’s blog is the first in a series of blogs that will probably deal with the subject of advice. We will take a look at this dynamic from a variety of perspectives and also include some samples of...

LEARN A LITTLE:Why Not Give Someone a Warm Shoulder Today? This has been a brutal winter. Here in Northern Illinois, we have had near record snowfall, ice storms, frigid days and nights, and many consecutive days where the temperature didn’t get above freezing. Cold...

LEARN A LITTLE:Organizations as Weather Machines Over many years of observation, it has become clear to me that any sizeable organization creates its own internal weather patterns. These impact not only the organizational members, but also the people with whom it...

LEARN A LITTLE:Is There Something Driving You Crazy? I trust you will overlook my non-professional use of the word "crazy", but it helps cut to the chase and capture something I have been observing on a much more frequent basis. People seem to be in a much greater...

LEARN A LITTLE: There Is No Such Thing as All of a Sudden   I was talking with a neighbor recently, who was, according to him, mowing the grass for the last time this year. “All of a sudden,” his mower quit, and the engine just died. No matter how many times he...

LEARN A LITTLE:   How's Your Job Going? It’s amazing how many people I have met during my career, who have shared the fact that they hate their job. I recently met a fellow in middle management, who told me, “I only have 14 more years, 3 months, 11 days and 15...

LEARN A LITTLE:   Something to Think About I was at a conference recently and a number of us were sitting together discussing the “secrets” of successful leadership. We ended up talking about a wide variety of topics and shared a wide variety of viewpoints. It...

LEARN A LITTLE: The Perils of Convenience Like a lot of constructs, “convenience” can define very positive things or results as well as negative ones. Most people would agree that using a microwave oven, shopping online, purchasing a book on Amazon, etc. are welcome...