I was quite young when this opportunity came along. I don’t think I was even in the company for a year when I got the phone call. The company had a single phone line in and we might’ve had two phones (maybe only one). My remaining cofounder and I had just agreed the day before to continue on our entrepreneurial pursuit after an objective review of our business venture caused one of the other cofounders to choose a more certain source of income for his young family. The call c

It’s not easy getting in the game, and winning is even tougher, but getting started involves taking chances while winning requires persistence. And so it was with a company I cofounded many years ago, and how it became one of the premier scoreboards and scoring and timing technology providers in North America – from schools and arenas, all the way up to the pro’s – the NHL, NBA and NFL.   The first opportunity came from the local OHL team, the  London Knights. They were playi

Last month, I decided to drop into “OFG”(Ontario Flower Growers) in Mississauga for the first time in 15 years, even though I have often been working with clients in the area. The clocks are not in use there now, but they are proudly displayed in the warehouse. OFG had become a customer in 1984, when they wanted an electronic “Dutch auction clock” to replace a mechanical one that a group of local growers had been using to sell flowers to retailers since 1972. The goal of an e

I couldn’t have a wall-of-fame of “trophies” from my first company without having Trojan’s UV3000 system components on it. The UV3000 products were the catalyst opportunity for the company that changed the course of it's trajectory. When two friends and I launched the company in 1980, it was a hobby sideline. I was the third to quit a full-time job when I jumped in full-time in 1981. We were a services company, fixing equipment made by others, and then adding some panel build

The Hyd-Mech PLC100 was a long sought after “trophy” for my wall. I had been looking for one for my trophy wall for years, checking back with a longtime contact (Jim), every year or two. I have frequently come across PLC100’s while visiting different client factories, and it is tremendously gratifying to see them in still action, doing what they were designed to do, nearly 40 years ago. They don’t break down and the operators love them, so they’re never pulled out of service.

Over the last month, as I've written about the dangers of data, how to ensure quality decision-making, and avoiding ambiguity, I’m going to conclude this series of articles with a topic that most know is near and dear to me – The Business Operating System. Every organization has an operating system. Most just don't realize it. It’s not the org chart. It’s not the strategy deck. And it’s definitely not the software stack. It’s the collection of habits, rhythms, decisions, a

Most organizations don’t set out to be unclear. Ambiguity creeps in quietly, usually with good intentions. A role evolves. A process stretches. A decision gets deferred. Someone says, “We’ll figure it out as we go.” And for a while, that works. Then the organization grows. Complexity increases. The same ambiguity that once felt flexible is now expensive. The problem is that ambiguity rarely appears on a financial statement. It hides in plain sight. Ambiguity feels harmless un

As I noted in my previous article, the conversation that “more data doesn’t mean better leadership” is now out in the open, which naturally leads to the next question. If data doesn’t make decisions, what does? The answer is uncomfortable for some leaders. Judgment. Context. Accountability. And the systems that support them. In other words, decision-making quality is not a personality trait of leadership. It’s a business capability. Decisions are the real output of leadership

I like data. That probably isn’t a surprise. I’ve built scorecards, KPI frameworks, dashboards, and reporting cadences across manufacturing, healthcare, and service environments. I’ve seen data bring clarity, alignment, and momentum. I’ve also seen it do the opposite. Because at a certain point, more data does not make you a better leader. It often makes you a worse one. Not because data is bad, but because of how we use it. The illusion of control Most leaders don’t ask for

Every team needs someone in the driver’s seat, not to control the car, but to guide it. I’ve found smarts  to be the most misinterpreted or misunderstood of the three virtues.  Patrick Lencioni, in his book The Ideal Team Player , provides greater detail to ensure the description is clear to all, as the word itself can be misleading, given our traditional definitions.  Without the proper context, the terms Smart and Humble could easily conflict with one another. In Lencioni’s

Every high-performing team has a certain sound. It’s not loud or flashy. It’s that quiet hum that tells you something’s working under the hood. Progress is happening, not because someone’s cracking a whip, but because the team wants  to move forward. That’s hunger. Patrick Lencioni describes it as one of the three virtues of the ideal team player. But it’s easy to mistake hunger for something else, ambition, competitiveness, or even obsession. Those can all look similar on th

Over the last year or two, I've had the opportunity to write about Patrick Lencioni's work and its relevance to a Business Operating System. Today, and over the next few weeks, I'm going to focus on the other aspect of his writing that really drives (yes, pun intended) an organization and an individual. I’ve worked with a lot of teams over the years, some that purred like a finely tuned engine and others that rattled along, barely making it to the next pit stop. Through those

If you want to improve something about yourself, coach someone else, and then practice what you teach. A few months ago, a young...

Small teams don’t have time to waste. Resources are tight, priorities compete, and the idea of “data-driven decisions” often sounds...

Every organization has pieces of a system. Weekly meetings here, annual planning there, maybe a dashboard or two scattered around. But...

Who is your next in-line? It’s a very different question than "who is your next-in-command?". Your next in command, or “2IC”, is the...

Have you ever been simultaneously full of hope and completely panicked about your business? I've been there multiple times. The thrill of...

Imagine if your favourite NFL coach ran your Monday morning ops meeting (yes, that would be Mike MacDonald or maybe Chuck Knox from days...

Some forces you can see in a business: metrics rising, projects launched, and open conflict between people. But others? They’re...

If you've felt a subtle shift lately, with conversations increasingly turning toward touchdowns, fantasy football, and Super Bowl...