Lack of training and compassion shows in airline’s weak crisis management When Dave Schneider was asked by Delta to check his baggage, including a $10,000 Gibson ES-335 guitar, he went along with it because, well, how else is a traveling musician supposed to get around? Upon arriving at his destination, Schneider was devastated to see …

“I’m at my wits end with one of my people regarding fill out reports in a consistent way. I’ve tried to be understanding and nice but it’s not working. I fear that I may explode the next time it happens.” Not dealing directly with the performance problem is common response. Many managers struggle with their …

How do you want 2013 to be different than 2012? Are you on track? What usually happens is that we get all excited about changing something in our personal or professional lives. We truly want to change but then as I say “life and work intervenes”. We get busy with other commitments. And our hopes, …

Some time ago, I had a conversation with a group of colleagues about “expectations” in our relationships between consultants and clients – our expectations, and theirs !! We all pretty much agreed that it really doesn’t make much of a difference what we spell out in our contracts regarding deliverables, as the client (who often …

“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” Ralph Waldo Emerson This post is part 2 in a series of posts dedicated to the committed relationships with stakeholders I’ve worked with over the past year, who continue to inspire me …

As a freelance project manager, many of the projects that come my way are troubled projects. They run the whole gamut: from projects that only require a straightforward readjustment in scope to complex projects that require protracted negotiations on scope, time, costs and constraints. Interestingly, it is not easy to arrive at generalities or ‘rules …

Dangerous glitches create nasty crisis management scenario for plane manufacturer Boeing’s Dreamliner 787 has been billed as the marquee aircraft for passenger lines the world over, but a recent string of scary electrical errors has led authorities in many countries, including Europe, Japan and India, along with our FAA, to ground the planes. Crisis communications …

Grant proposals should go through a five-step writing process: •  Plan: Think through your proposal section. •  Organize: Use the grant guidelines as your outlining guide. •  Write: Write in a free-flowing manner. •  Examine: Walk away from your writing and review it later while letting others review it too. •  Revise: Emphasize clarity, conciseness, correctness, and persuasiveness. One of my …

A common situation in small organizations is this: the finance department consists of a bookkeeper, the executive director’s background is as a program manager and there are no accountants on the Board. Many of these organizations are continually at the edge of a fiscal cliff and deal with ongoing crisis with staff cutbacks or skimping in other ways that actually hurt the organization. Even small nonprofits need to have a sound financial strategy. Some action steps should include:

My loyal blog readers have read my post on the 5 Ps of Preparation - Purpose, Product, People, Probable Issues, and Process. While all are important, which "P" is the most essential when preparing for a meeting?