Because of this manufacturing contract shortage, many factories are being transformed into clean, well lit, ergonomically friendly showplaces and plant managers lead the show.  Today’s plant manager certainly needs to be aware of the latest safety requirements, personnel practices, and financial expectations.  But in order to step above the competition a plant manager has to be a quality minded visionary, versed in technical leadership practices such as Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, and Error Proof Principles.  He or she also has to be capable of imparting that mindset plant wide.  The state of mind that one defect is too many and one line stoppage is intolerable must be understood and internalized to all employees from top management to the assembly worker.

A terrific training platform for plant management is manufacturing engineering.  A manufacturing engineer has to have his or her finger on the pulse of every aspect of a smooth running organization.  Safety, quality and productivity are the manufacturing engineer’s mantra and that is precisely what is needed for plant management.  Technical leadership is the key.  Manufacturing engineers lead projects, budgets, process safety, and key metrics but none of this is occurs smoothly with out skilled technical leadership.  Unskilled engineers may fumble and bumble their way through tasks but only the true leaders will deliver seamlessly and those are precisely the credentials that make for solid plant managers.

First of all our decisions had to keep us connected to our relationship with God. Secondly they had to be beneficial to the security of our country. Finally they had to uphold the honor and tradition of the Corps. After those 3 conditions were met almost anything was possible. However, it was mandatory to make decisions in the order stated.

If you noticed, the word I (or me) occurs nowhere in that decision-making process. I have determined that if we make decisions in a manner that keeps us connected with God (or our moral code), our country and our organizations then our needs will automatically be met.

A dilemma immediately arises because our 1st priority (the voice of God /our moral code) is very difficult to discern in tumultuous times. The reason is that it is a quiet voice and is easily drowned out by the circumstances and situations surrounding us. The importance of this voice is best described in the following poem:

“The Voice

There is a voice inside of you

That whispers all day long,

“I feel this is right for me,

I know that this is wrong.”

No teacher, preacher, parent, friend

Or wise man can decide

What’s right for you–just listen to

The voice that speaks inside.”

― Shel Silverstein

The next step in this decision-making process is to make sure that our decision is beneficial to society as a whole. Here again we must understand that the decision is not about what’s best for me (or the organization) but about what’s best for society. It’s important to note that I am not saying we cannot profit from our decisions, I’m just saying that the priority for making this profit should not be higher than those priorities already established.

Finally, the 3rd priority determines: “If my decisions are beneficial to the organization.” This is the last priority because organizations are man-made. However if we have created our organization by adhering to the 1st 2 priorities then our decision must support the goals of the organization.

If you have paid attention to the news lately you will notice that individuals seem to be making decisions by reversing these priorities.  First, the organization is their number 1 priority. Secondly, country is their 2nd priority and finally, the voice of God (or their moral code) is there last priority.

This last comment has been borne out by the political bickering of our lawmakers on a local, state and national basis as well as the decision-makers involved in the scandals occurring at various educational institutions around the country.

We can get our country moving in the right direction again by just focusing on: God, Country and Corps (organization). However each one of us must do our part in daily life to make this a reality. If you need help in getting your organization moving in the right direction please feel free to contact me.

When hiring an experienced facilitator, companies benefit because the workshops and the trainings conducted are more organized and focused .This can be very advantageous to the participants as they will be able to learn new things and discover additional natural talents that they were not able to nurture in school or college.

Professional facilitators generally encourage group and individual participation in activities and foster creativity. Learning to participate in the activities and discussions gives the participants the chance to express their ideas, their thoughts, and even their feelings, allowing them to develop a sense of self confidence and showcase their skills and talents. Participating in the workshop’s activities and discussion is the first step in achieving effective learning.

Joan Noyes suggests: “The idea is to engage the learners and stimulate them to participate in their own learning. Provide opportunities for every type of learner – visual, -auditory and – kinesthetic. Provide for everyone things to see, hear and do. You’ll stimulate your learners, whether in the classroom or meeting room. They’ll enjoy it more, learn more and retain it longer.”

It is also one of the tasks of the facilitator to conduct games and energizers that will bring out the enthusiasm of the participants and to break the monotony that can occur in topic discussions. The games themselves will actually promote critical thinking amongst participants.

Good and effective communication within the business organization is the key to achieving the business’ goals and fulfilling its visions. This is why learning how to communicate well is vital to the employees during workshops and trainings conducted by professional facilitator(s). Business communication is often one of the topics being tackled and discussed in facilitated workshops and seminars, though it often may be disguised as teamwork, collaboration improvement, or something similarly revolving around the need to work and communicate better with each other.

A good facilitator can orchestrate a workshop that is beneficial for all the participants and the business organization as a whole. Hiring a good facilitator can be the first step in achieving business success which every business organization is aiming for. Most of the facilitators today have wide repertoire of knowledge as far as professional facilitation is concerned. Facilitation is growing in popularity as a profession, trending around the globe right now. Having many individuals who call themselves facilitators does not mean it is easy to find a good facilitator for workshops and trainings for business organizations. Finding a good professional facilitator is hard work and should involve a detailed evaluation of experiences that demonstrate success is settings and topics similar to the need of the organization. With an effective facilitator, an organization can vastly increase success in the delivery of new knowledge and most importantly, increase the retention of the content to levels not achievable with traditional classroom training, lectures, or teaching methods. Good professional facilitators are one of the many tools for effective learning.

There is a fundamental tendency to look for outside causes or reasons before looking at ourselves. Recently at a seminar in Ohio, Antonio Thorton said something very profound that fits really well for leaders and individuals in authority positions:

“If you want to keep getting what you’re getting, keep doing what’ you’re doing!”

This goes for the performance results of your team members and those you lead, the work product, the participation in class, or during meetings, – pretty much every walk of life or work you encounter. If you really want to be the role model and the leader you are capable of, you need to ask yourself what you have been doing to cause the results you are getting.

Gordon Selfridge summed it up like this:
- The boss drives people; the leader coaches and mentors them
- The boss depends on authority; the leader on good will
- The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm
- The boss says: “I”; the leader says “WE”
- The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown
- The boss says “Go”; the leader says “LET’s Go!”

In my experience there are two main areas to look at:

1. Skills – what you can do in which way to achieve results and let your strategy and vision become reality
2. Attributes – what kind of person do you exemplify and how do you behave as this person

Skills is something you have learned and keep applying and refining. Most of the time your skills are not what causes the results to be as they are (unless you are in a profession that depends on your manual skills, like a carpenter, tile setter, etc.)

Attributes is where it is. How ambitious are you? How much can you depend on yourself and those you lead? How much of a role model have you been, and most importantly, how clearly have the visions, strategies, and goals been developed and communicated among those from who you are getting what you’re getting?

One way to get more clarity is to conduct a TCC or “Talent Catalyst Conversation”. It’s a great, simple process that allows me to help leaders find answers and prepare them and their followers to achieve their goals.

In case you are on the fence but still would like to get yourself on the path to success, try this: approach:
“To get what you desire, change what doesn’t work today!”

When the service began, I could not help by reflect on the many positive experiences he and I shared together as kids.  I actually found myself smiling as I thought of all the mischief we got into together.  They say life works in mysterious ways and I would certainly agree as I often find uncommon insight from uncommon places.  I had no idea that he had accomplished so much while affecting so many people along the way.  It was not his professional accomplishments that surprised me so much but rather his growth as a man and the legacy he left in his community.  It was apparent from how others described him that he led a rich but loving life.  I found myself pondering what seems to be a cliché, yet worth asking:

If this were my funeral today, who would show up and what would they say?

I am convinced that few would care about my German automobile, the square footage of my home, my Rolex watch or the numerous awards that I received for outstanding achievement during my career.  My friend’s passing served as a wake-up call because it put things in perspective as to just how precious life is for all of us.  I have made a commitment to myself to invest time and effort in real relationships the remainder of my life.   My friend was my age – another reminder that you cannot take any given day for granted!  In what seems like a constant race for more stuff,  it is easy to lose sight of what matters most.   As you continue to build your personal brand, make sure you also spend some time contemplating what your legacy will be when your time comes too.

It is only fitting that I ask you; whom would you most like to see at your funeral and what would you want them to say?  What are you doing to invest in those relationships today?

When elected officials are in office to perform certain important functions and neglect those functions, or fail to perform those functions at a world-class leadership level, and with total integrity, especially when they decide to focus on issues other than for which they were elected – what kind of example does this set for children? Do they want children to learn to form gangs and argue and fight with each other as the right way to get along and to accomplish important tasks? Do they want children to learn to drag things out and avoid or prolong compromises needed to have a productive and peaceful environment? Do they want children to learn how to be selfish and concentrate primarily on their own success at the expense of others, and in place of accomplishing their primary work?

When business leaders decide to knowingly let less-than-perfect products out into the market for consumption by consumers, is this a good example for children? Or when they think their product was produced perfectly and then discover later that their product unintentionally has safety-risk type flaws, and try to hide the fact, or drag their feet in correcting the safety-risk, is this a good example for children? Do they want children to learn not to erase a wrong answer, when they discover it is wrong, and to just hope the teacher won’t see it? Do they want children to learn to play with each other in an unsafe manner and to hope that their parents won’t find out that they are playing in this manner?

When higher education leaders knowingly try to sweep things under the carpet, especially relative to their lucrative sports teams, is this a good example for children? Do they want children to learn that it is okay to knowingly break the rules as long as they don’t get caught?

So leaders, when you are secretly wondering in your conscience whether you are doing the right thing, ask yourselves: “Which one of the decision options, in this situation, would be the best example for children to follow?”

There was 512 MB currently installed on my Windows-based laptop and it was expandable to a maximum of 1 GB. So as I saw it I had a decision to make. I could either upgrade the memory on my current laptop or purchase a new one where I can install 2 or even 4 GB of memory. I decided to purchase a new one.

The question then became whether I should purchase another Windows-based laptop or an Apple MacBook Pro? Understand that in my entire life I probably have no more than 10 min. worth of keyboard time utilizing any Apple computer. However, my research led me to believe that I could accomplish my objectives easier utilizing the MacBook Pro. As a result I made the plunge and took a bite of the Apple (get the joke?).

This decision required that I be totally committed to make this purchase work for me. In making this decision it occurred to me that I utilized a fundamental decision making process. The steps to this process are

1.            Completely understand your environment and the need to make a change.

2.            Make a list of possible solutions that will meet your need.

3.            List the pros and cons associated with each solution. You do not have to solve the problems at this stage, just                      itemize them.

4.            Make a decision and commit to it.

5.            Solve the problems related to your decision as they occur.

This process can be used in either organizations or life in general. I find it beneficial when my life starts to get out of control. This normally happens when I get so distracted by what’s going on around me that I start reacting to life. During these times I usually stop listening to my internal navigation system which quietly tries to direct me towards my life’s goals and purpose. I have found that my life simply works better when I live in a manner that keeps me connected with my internal GPS.

If you are in an organization, your internal GPS is probably your organization’s mission statement.  If you don’t have one, get one! Review it on a regular basis in order to make sure it is relevant. I have found that organizations can easily falter or get off track when they perform activities or make decisions not related to their mission statement.

Just in case you were wondering, this is my 1st blog created using the MacBook Pro. It was not an easy road, but then nothing really worthwhile ever is.

In summary, from time to time, it is important we evaluate our lives and organizations in order to determine if we are moving in the direction of our goals or purpose. If not, please use some form of the decision-making process identified above to make necessary changes.

To begin any intervention, coaching, training, or otherwise, we all need a foundation – a place from which to start, a place that established the status quo. Sometimes the use of Talent Catalyst Conversation is the best way to get there, sometimes it is a performance Potential Assessment, and sometimes it is a simple call or meeting. This foundation allows us to determine where an individual stands before we start working with him or her. It is basically a measurement of the level to which someone taps into the full performance potential we all have.

In the recent past I have written a number of descriptions and articles of the individual drivers and attributes our system identifies. Now, we can take a next step and learn from Otto Scharmer and the sources of his research how things actually tie together. My goal will be to put what Otto is describing in his publications into perspective with our own tools. I hope to do this in a way that allows the readers to benefit and apply the findings to their own life.

Today we start with a look at what Otto calls “The Blind Spot”. He describes this blind spot as a place within and around us where our attention and intentions originate. It’s the place from where we operate when we do something. The reason it’s blind, is that it is an invisible dimension of our social field, of our everyday experiences in social interactions. (U-Theory, P6)

If we apply this analogy to leadership, we can look at the leaders work from three different angles:

1. We can look at what leaders do

2. We can look at the how, the processes leaders use (typically used in management & leadership research throughout the last few decades)

3. We can look at the sources leaders operate from

The blind spot at issue here is a fundamental factor in leadership and the social sciences. It also affects our everyday social experience. In the process of conducting our daily business and social lives, we are usually well aware of what we do and what others do; we also have some understanding of how we do things, the processes we and others use when we act. Yet if we were to ask the question: “from what source does our action come?” most of us would be unable to provide an answer. We can’t see the source from which we operate; we aren’t aware of the place from which our attention and intentions originate. (U-Theory, P7)

This is where the similarities of the work shown in U-Theory regarding the Blind Spot in leadership and the work we do at AMC LLC starts. With our assessment we identify the extent to which certain personal attributes are developed, positive and negative. Based on the findings we create a foundation that allows us to dig deeper and get towards, if not always to, the source.

One of the fundamental differences between our approach and what many other coaches do lies in the goal of changing the origin of people actions and behaviors, specifically when these actions and behaviors are detrimental to the success for the person. That doesn’t only apply to private life, but at least as much to the management and leadership of the individuals we touch.

I believe the Blind Spot is correctly named because very few of us have the awareness of why we act as we do. You have read many times that I say: “Awareness is at least 50% of the solution.” In this case the solution is not a formula to solve a problem or complete a calculation, but a solution to the issues a person is facing, the issues that hold one back from being successful and excel.

Since we measure the human performance, or more accurately, the extent to which a person is actually using his or her full performance potential, we can see at what parts of the source we need to start. That does not mean that we shine a full bright light on the Blind Spot Otto Scharmer is describing, but for certain parts of this blind spot, we can provide a shimmer that can be used to begin the process of enlightenment and improvement.

Those individuals, who allow us to perform the measurement and then work with us to improve the areas that need it, while strengthening what is already well developed, always surprise me by the amazing speed with which they improve and become aware. It’s almost like a hidden ability is coming to the forefront and begins to shine – and when the friends and relatives of the client start asking what is going on, the transformation becomes tangible. In that sense the coaching we provide shines light onto the Blind Spot and allows awareness to make it smaller while improving life for the person, as well as everybody around him or her.

If you like to begin the journey to your Blind Spot and learn through measurement where your strength and weaknesses are, get in touch with MVP semainrs and ask for the Performance Doctor . Then, when we know how much you take advantage of your potential and where we can put our levers to get the rest activated, the coaching or training process starts.

I will be waiting for your call or email and then be your guide through the darkness and into the light of fulfillment and joy. Don’t procrastinate – I am looking to help you on your journey towards a successful life as a leader and a member of society.

Dr. Axel Meierhoefer