Author Archives:

Scrambling Around

Posted on April 30, 2012

“Then what is my role, as the manager?” Valerie asked. “I do all the same stuff as the supervisor, it’s just that most of the time, I handle the bigger problems.” “Bigger problems, like what?” I followed. “Like last week, … Continue reading →

Posted in Time Span | Tagged , , ,

From Concrete to Conceptual

Posted on April 24, 2012

From the Ask Tom mailbag – This is Part 5 of 5 in a series. This post is in response to a question by Herb Koplowitz, contributing editor to Global Organization Design Society. It is based on a discussion about … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Time Span | Tagged , , ,

Stay Stuck or Scale?

Posted on April 23, 2012

From the Ask Tom mailbag – This is Part 4 of 5 in a series. This post is in response to a question by Herb Koplowitz, contributing editor to Global Organization Design Society. It is based on a discussion about … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Time Span | Tagged , , ,

End to End System Accountability

Posted on April 20, 2012

From the Ask Tom mailbag – This is Part 3 of 5 in a series. This post is in response to a question by Herb Koplowitz, contributing editor to Global Organization Design Society. It is based on a discussion about … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Time Span | Tagged , ,

Pace and Quality Output of the Team

Posted on April 19, 2012

From the Ask Tom mailbag – This is Part 2 of 5 in a series. This post is in response to a question by Herb Koplowitz, contributing editor to Global Organization Design Society. It is based on a discussion about … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Teams, Time Span | Tagged , ,

Collins and Jaques

Posted on April 18, 2012

From the Ask Tom mailbag – I have to set this up, because the source of this discussion began in January of this year. On this site, under Organizational Models, I listed a specific reference to Jim Collins and his … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Time Span | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

MOR on the Hook

Posted on April 16, 2012

From the Ask Tom mailbag – Question: We are a small organization and most of our production work is technical, defined at Stratum III. Because we are small, and I am the Hiring Manager, in a Stratum IV role, not … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Hiring Talent | Tagged , ,

It’s a Cakewalk

Posted on April 11, 2012

From the Ask Tom mailbag – Question: I just read your latest newsletter regarding team interviewing. I am a lousy interviewer but trying to get better. I am intrigued by the 50-60 interview questions that need to be prepared as … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiring Talent | Tagged , , , ,

Getting By and Paying the Price

Posted on April 11, 2012

“I know we are missing a couple of Managers,” admitted Derrick. “We intentionally allowed these positions to be open. We thought we could get by, save some salaries. We thought other people could cover for a short time.” “And now … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Systems | Tagged , , ,

Problem Fixed, System Broken

Posted on April 10, 2012

“You have two out of five manager positions in place on a daily basis, so when you have a problem, you fix the problem, but not the system,” I offered. “So, the problem is fixed,” Derrick insisted. “Yes, the problem … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Systems | Tagged , , ,