Category: Operations

Don’t cry, learn from spilled milk …

Paul Wagenaar

People are the “everything” for any organization. What if I told you, your organization could be much more successful without seeing any more clients or customers than you are right now? Every organization has “spillage,” clients or customers who leave your organization unsatisfied.

Starting today, especially after reading this short introduction, you and your people, regardless of your place in our communities, can do better. Providing an “Exceptional Customer Service Experience” is the starting point. This is true whether your organization is dedicated to sales or an established charitable organization. Take 5 minutes and see what you think.

A short guide to spending time …

Paul Wagenaar

How often do you wish for just a little more time …

Time to finish, time so you don’t have to stay late or work from home. Time to better prepare, to do a better job, to feel less behind? No one is born with the ability to master time, we cannot save it, we can only spend it.

What follows is a short (very) guide to some “Tools Everyone One Can Use,” to begin to spend their “time” better. Each of the tools works, I use them daily. I have learned them, with difficulty (lol), from my mentors, from experience; and like all of my other posts I would like to share them.

ps. This post is dedicated to HM.

A Primer for Small and Medium-sized Organizations

Paul Wagenaar

Organizational toxicity is a major problem for some small and medium-sized organizations. Failing to acknowledge and effectively remove the toxic elements could result in poor morale, low staff retention, and left unchecked the elimination of the organization itself.

Today’s post is a primer, a short guide to creating a plan to change the dynamics of your organization for leaders, managers, and everyone else in the affected organization.

Tools Everyone Can Use

Paul Wagenaar

Perhaps the most important of the posts for small and medium sized organizations of all stripes I have written so far. Looking after your people effectively will make the difference between success and becoming a “train wreck.”

When your organization is not your organization

Paul Wagenaar

Internal dynamics in any organization are interesting. All organizations, large or small, for-profit or not, all face external challenges. What happens though, when the greatest threats to growth, adaptation, and evolution come from inside?

A Recurring Theme

Paul Wagenaar

I believe “for-profit” and “not-for-profit” organizations both can and must make a difference in our communities. Since my return to the “for-profit” sector my posts have refocused on issues and concerns shared by many small and medium-sized organizations; however, the perspectives and lessons learned while working for the United Way and Canadian Mental Health Association are just as important as marketing, sales, and logistics.

Please take five minutes and see if there are any tools in this post you can use. Change starts with one person and we need your help.

Adapting, Improvising, and Overcoming

Paul Wagenaar

For small and medium-size organizations of all stripes, finding good people in a challenging labor market has never been harder. Take five minutes and consider some unconventional solutions.

“The customer is not always right”

Paul Wagenaar

“The customer is always right …” is not a valid argument. “The customer has rights,” is. You have rights and you have responsibilities.

Take a few minutes, you will find this to be a short guide to finding the right retail organizations for you.

Leading Evolution

Paul Wagenaar

People are any organization’s greatest strength, conversely they can also be its downfall. Successfully navigating through issues of entitlement, appreciating the importance of gratitude, and ensuring connectively is not always easy. Organizational evolution is the path to surviving and thriving in today’s world.

Avoiding drama, politics, and bull#@%!

Paul Wagenaar

This post was inspired by a series of miscalculations and mistakes I unfortunately helped to create. The end result was the exit of a very good person from an organization I care about deeply. What follows is a summary of our “lesson’s learned” that we will apply for the next time.