Execution |

The Perfect Storm

By John Evelyn | August 14, 2009 | Adversity,Agility,Alignment,Capability,Competition,Execution,Leadership,Lean,Leverage,Operational Excellence,Resources,Rigidity,Six Sigma,Sustainability,Technology,Transparency,Winning

Our customers make us better! Have you heard that phrase? When I have, the translation that emerges is that our customers sometimes have to drag us into improvement. In fact, it often means that we become aware of the needs to improve from feedback and complaints. Someone might argue that we sometimes innovate from negative feedback
Read More…

“Band of Brothers”

By John Evelyn | August 12, 2009 | Adversity,Agility,Alignment,Blind Spots,Capability,Competition,Diagnosis,Execution,Leadership,Leverage,Resources,Rigidity,Risks,Teamwork,Technology,Winning

A must read chapter is “Battle of the Nile.” For me, it resonates with the importance of knowing your competition and your real estate (where you are competing), planning, innovation, and most of all, empowering your team to win. It also serves as a vivid example of how much the rigid controls of an adversary created wonderful opportunities for execution with agility and surprise.
Read More…

Francis Bacon, Top Guns, and the Breakfast of Champions

By John Evelyn | August 7, 2009 | Adversity,Agility,Blind Spots,Capability,Competition,Deming Prize,Diagnosis,Execution,Fit for purpose,Leadership,Leverage,Operational Excellence,Resources,Rigidity,Risks,Technology,Winning

It’s time for breakfast. I’m having a bowl of OODA Loops, a true Breakfast of Champions. Want some?

Read More…

“Once Upon a Time … and Then They Lived Happily Ever After”

By John Evelyn | August 5, 2009 | Adversity,Agility,Blind Spots,Capability,Diagnosis,Execution,Fit for purpose,Rigidity,Risks,Sustainability,Transparency

“Once Upon a Time … and Then They Lived Happily Ever After”
Read More…

“Go or Check, Mate?”

By John Evelyn | August 3, 2009 | Adversity,Agility,Capability,Competition,Execution,Leadership,Leverage,Resources,Teamwork,Winning

Chess and Go are two games that require a real time combination of strategic, tactical and analytical skills to master. They have military emphasis, with conquest as an objective, but are worlds apart in terms of what how success is …
Read More…

Felix the Cat

By John Evelyn | July 31, 2009 | Adversity,Agility,Capability,Diagnosis,Execution,Fit for purpose,General,Leadership,Legacy,Resources,Rigidity,Sustainability,Tailoring,Technology

How often do we use our nostalgia magic bag? It’s the one where we keep our memories and trusted well-worn tools, similar to Felix the Cat’s bag of tricks. Like Felix, when he gets in a fix, we face problems …
Read More…

“Hurry Up and Wait!”

By John Evelyn | July 27, 2009 | Agility,Capability,Competition,Customer Experience,Customer Service,Execution,General,Lean,Operational Excellence,Resources,Respect,Six Sigma,Teamwork,Technology,Transparency,Travel

This morning I was traveling. It was a long flight, but the flight crew made great time. In fact, the pilot announced that we would be in a half hour early, at the gate. Great news! I could feel those …
Read More…

“Something In The Way She Moves……”

By John Evelyn | July 24, 2009 | Adversity,Agility,Capability,Competition,Execution,Leadership,Leverage,Operational Excellence,Rigidity,Winning

We were having a discussion one night about agility. It started with the language of sports or war to develop metaphors for illustrating business parallels. Agility became my pet for that chat and endless ranting to come. I concluded that …
Read More…

“It’s Not Your Problem!”

By John Evelyn | July 22, 2009 | Agility,Capability,Competition,Customer Experience,Customer Service,Execution,General,Operational Excellence,Resources,Tapestry of your life,Teamwork,Travel,Winning

Travel mess-ups happen. If you’ve been on the road for some time, you accumulate enough stories to play one-up-on you with fellow road warriors. My wackiest experience was when I and a customer were in Suriname (Dutch Guyana) and had …
Read More…

“The Summer of 69”

By John Evelyn | July 20, 2009 | Adversity,Agility,Alignment,Capability,Competition,Execution,Leadership,Leverage,Purpose and Values,Resources,Teamwork,Technology,Vision,Winning

It was the summer of 1969, a hot, balmy Miami midsummer night, and I was between high school graduation and my first quarter at college. For me, the summer of 69 represented a big transition from the euphoria and fun …
Read More…

Tag Archives: Execution