This year, I changed my leadership style. I’ve learned that my whole team is happier, more engaged, and more productive when I “manage” less and “empower” more. In traditional corporate environments, people usually think that the boss or manager has to bestow empowerment on the people who report to him. Consequently, the reporting staff members wait for the bestowing of empowerment, and the boss asks why his employees won’t act in empowered ways. A few months ago, I turned that model upside down and trusted my employees to lead meetings, make decisions and move
Read more →Archive for the Thought for the Weekend Category
For a lot of people, Labor Day means two things: a day off and the end of summer. For sports fans, it means that baseball season is coming to a climax and football is about to start. Of course, Labor Day was originally intended as an annual tribute to the contributions American workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. The first Labor Day parade occurred September 5, 1882, in New York City. The workers’ unions chose the first Monday in September because it was halfway between Independence Day and
Read more →Earlier this week, I flew the friendly skies to visit with a few of our clients in the Northeast. Having just finished reading the book Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by author Seth Godin, I couldn’t help but think about the airline safety announcements at the start of every flight. In his book, Godin argues that the key to business success is to find a way to stand out–to be the purple cow in a field of monochrome Holsteins. And, let’s face it – the average pre-take-off safety briefing isn’t exactly
Read more →It’s not really a crisis; it’s an epidemic. In the late 80’s, when I started my career in the brokerage industry, our carrier screening process was geared toward ensuring that carriers had a satisfactory safety rating and were properly insured. Today, although safety ratings and insurance coverage are still important, identity theft has become our greatest concern. Defrauders use false identities to commit a number of crimes. For example: Pretending to be a carrier, a scammer calls in “loaded” and then steals the fuel advance from the broker. Swindlers search available load boards for
Read more →Feedback. For some people it’s the “F” word; they avoid it because they think it’s synonymous with “criticism and complaints”, but done right, constructive feedback is one of the most powerful gifts we can give or receive. Did you know that feedback is the shortest word in the English language containing the letters: abcdef? Even though feedback contains the six first building blocks of our entire communication system, there is nothing elementary about it. Change Management Consultant Rick Maurer said: “We believe we do a better job at giving feedback than we really do.”
Read more →A truck leaves Boston for Philadelphia at the same time another truck leaves Philadelphia for Boston. The truck from Boston travels at an average rate of 45 miles per hour; the other truck travels at an average rate of 55 miles per hour. Which truck should you hire? If you’re like most people, algebra, geometry and statistics were not your favorite subjects, and you’d probably rather have a root canal than try to make sense of mathematical word problems like the ones above. But me? I’m a numbers geek. I actually enjoy reading financial
Read more →I’ve heard it said that bowling is the ideal sport because it is basically “an hour of drinking beer occasionally interrupted by six seconds of exercise.” That’s precisely how the entire Matchmaker Logistics team rolled when we recently gathered together in Wilmington for a Friday night outing at the bowling alley. Accessible to folks of all ages, skill levels, and fitness levels, bowling is a simple game that provides hours of good, clean fun. And, we definitely had fun. Fueled by beer towers and laughter, I’m told that the team kept on going long
Read more →Congratulations are in order for Mary Nicholas, Pam Carrier, and Shelly Stoddart at Matchmaker Logistics. All three of them have new job titles that are more in keeping with their responsibilities in our organization. Mary, who is the second in command at Matchmaker, has been named Vice-President. In addition to her work with our shippers and carriers, she will be leading our Business Development program and developing what we call a “WOW” Process for our customers and our employees. Pam is now our Senior Carrier Sales Representative and will take the lead with all
Read more →One of the great things about living in a coastal town like Wilmington, NC is that we live where other people go to vacation. This year, our Fourth of July vacation was a stay-cation of sorts, as we enjoyed boating, beaches and hotel pools with friends and family here and in neighboring Myrtle Beach, SC. If I learned anything this past week, it is that location is everything, especially when it comes to raising your kids and the way they talk. As a child raised in the Northeast, I grew up on “soda”. But
Read more →The Fourth of July has become synonymous with the barbecues and summer fun. While there are numerous variations on the menu for an Independence Day cookout, you can almost count on traditional favorites such as hamburgers and hot dogs, chicken, ribs, garden salads, potato salad, chips and watermelon. When you tuck in to that all-American fare this weekend, remember to thank the truck drivers and logistics professionals who made it possible: There’s a 1-in-6 chance the beef on your backyard grill came from Texas. The Lone Star State is the leader in the production
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