Harvard Business Review

To Build a Top-Performing Team, Ask for 85% Effort

Summary.   An outdated way of thinking about peak performance is: “maximum effort = maximum results.” But research shows that it doesn’t actually work that way in reality. Here’s what actually works: The 85% rule, which counterintuitively suggests that to reach maximum output, you need to refrain from giving maximum effort. Operating at 100% effort all of…

Design Thinking for Operational Excellence

Design Thinking for Operational Excellence

I was the Chairman at an Operational Excellence and Business Transformation conference in Amsterdam this past March (2023) which was produced by CParity.  The lead-off workshop was on Design Thinking. I must admit; my first impression of the workshop was mixed.  I thought the concepts of Design Thinking and its approaches were novel.  But it…

State Of Readiness | Innocent Hadebe; Director of Business Excellence for Chick-fil-A Corporate

State Of Readiness | Innocent Hadebe; Director of Business Excellence for Chick-fil-A Corporate

Hello and welcome to another edition of State of Readiness. I am your host Joseph Paris. My guest today is Innocent Hadebe, Director of Business Excellence for Chick-fil-A Corporate.  I met Innocent like a meet a great many people and that would be through LinkedIn.  Of course my initial attraction to Innocent was that we…

Culture Change: Go Ugly Early – Go Ugly Fast

Culture Change: Go Ugly Early – Go Ugly Fast

I was the Chairman at a three-day conference on Operational Excellence and Business Transformation recently and was really impressed by the number of people in attendance and the caliber of the speakers. Some of the speakers discussed technology, and their vision of the future.  But most of the speakers focused on softer skills; leadership, innovation,…