Amazon

Continuous Improvement Manager

Area Manager

Site Manager

Junior Site Manager

Syddansk Universitet - University of Southern Denmark

Junior Research Assistant

Kverneland Group Kerteminde A/S

Master Thesis Project

ForeFlight

Data Consultant

Odense University Hospital

Semester Project

Follow for daily posts about Lean, CI & Innovation | Continuous Improvement Manager @ Amazon

Hi!👋 Ivan here

I'm an industrial engineer with 7+ years of experience in Operations Management and Continuous Improvement.

I serve two main groups of people:

	• Business owners and executives who want to turn their broken processes into brilliant ones (and save so much damn money) through Kaizen and Innovation

	• Founders and consulting firm owners within CI, Lean or Innovation who want to promote their businesses and make LinkedIn a legit revenue channel

(DM me for the details) 


I started writing on LinkedIn in October 2023. 

Since then, I have been sharing actionable, educational, and entertaining content to support LinkedIn community members in their continuous improvement journey. This helped me grow my audience from 9,000 to 100,000 followers in a year.

Join my newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/ddQncJM5

Ivan Carillo

26 Kaizen Leadership Mantras

Here are the 4 principles that I believe are most powerful (and why):

1/ Gemba never lies; go and see for yourself.

I've seen leaders make terrible decisions because they trusted Excel sheets over their own eyes. The problems that cost us millions are often visible on the shopfloor, but nobody bother to look. Reports tell you what people want you to know. Gemba tells you what's actually happening. I think the moment you stop walking the floor is the moment you lose touch with reality. Your operators won't lie to you if you show up regularly, ask good questions, and actually listen to their answers.

2/ Without psychological safety, Kaizen dies.

I've watched brilliant Kaizen programs collapse because people were terrified to speak up. Companies that blame individuals for systemic problems get exactly what they deserve. Silence. Workers hide defects, skip reporting near-misses, and watch waste happen rather than risk looking stupid or getting punished. I think this is why most Kaizen initiatives fail within a year. You can't improve what people won't talk about, and people won't talk about problems in a culture of fear.

3/ The person doing the work knows it best.

I learned this the hard way early in my career when I implemented a Kaizen idea. The operators supported it, then immediately went back to their old method the moment I left. Every time I've ignored frontline expertise, I've wasted time and money solving the wrong problem. I think we underestimate how much knowledge lives in the hands and muscle memory of people who do the same task hundreds of times daily.

4/ Kaizen culture doesn't support strategy. Kaizen culture is strategy.

I spent years thinking CI was something that helped execute our "real" strategy. I was wrong. Companies with a strong Kaizen culture adapt faster, survive disruptions better, and outperform competitors with superior strategic plans. I think this is the principle most executives miss. Your competitors can copy your products in months, but they can't copy a culture where thousands of people solve problems every single day.

P.S. What's your fav one in the list?

Founder of Gemba Walk AI — I help executives cut waste and fix the broken processes costing them millions

Brutal truth: most Kaizen implementations fail within 6 months.

Here's why (and how to fix it):

Common failure pattern..

↓ Launch with great enthusiasm 
↓ Form improvement teams 
↓ Run some workshops 
↓ See initial results 
↓ Get distracted by other priorities 
 ↳ Kaizen activities fade away

The missing ingredient? 
Systems thinking.

Successful Kaizen requires these systems working together:

1/ Total Quality Management

+Customer focus throughout organization
+Process-oriented improvement mindset

2/ Just-In-Time Production

+Elimination of waste in all forms
+Flow-based operations

3/ Total Productive Maintenance

+Equipment reliability and efficiency
+Operator involvement in maintenance

4/ Policy Deployment

+Clear targets cascading from top to bottom
+Aligned improvement efforts

5/ Suggestion Systems

+Employee engagement in daily improvement
+Recognition of participation

6/ Small Group Activities

+Quality circles and improvement teams
+Collaborative problem-solving
 
Most companies try to implement Kaizen 
…without these foundations. 

Remember:

Success requires patience.

+Start with one system
+Build it thoroughly
+Connect it to others gradually

…and never stop improving!

Founder of Gemba Walk AI • I help executives cut waste and fix the broken processes costing them millions

Most companies create fantastic value stream maps.

Then file them away. (I've seen it dozens of times) 

Video credit to Krish Sengottaiyan. Give him a follow

Teams spend weeks mapping their current state. 

They identify waste. 
They draft the future state

Then ...nothing changes.

You know why?

No one is responsible for the customer experience.

Traditional organizations are function-based.

→ Finance reports to CFO 
→ Operations reports to COO 
→ Sales reports to CRO

Each leader knows their department.
But nobody understands how value flows end-to-end.

No single leader owns value stream performance.

"Everyone" is responsible = No one is responsible

VSM needs an owner with authority. 
One leader who can make decisions across silos.

CEO could, but they operate too high to manage CI.

So it's key to assign executive-level VSM ownership. 

Before you map your next value stream, answer this:

Who owns the complete customer journey?

If you can't name them...
save yourself the effort.

P.S. Does anyone in your organization have E2E accountability for value delivery?

G&P LLC

Lead a team that buys, sells, invests in, and grows small businesses.

Founder

Growth That Matters

Helping people and organizations thrive:
+Newsletter author: Join 340,000+ who receive practical tips to thrive at work and in life by email and social every week.
+Speaker: I deliver keynote speeches and intimate presentations on leadership and personal and professional growth to organizations across the world.

Author and Speaker

Appeal Wizards

Turnaround CEO of an online services company, growing EBITDA from -20% to 55% in 7
months, and sustaining it until transitioning to an internal successor

Jefferson County, Colorado

Led 115 employees as we dramatically overhauled a frontline government agency that serves 600,000 people, winning four national innovation awards, being featured on 60 Minutes, CNN, and dozens of other programs, and achieving 95%+ customer satisfaction.

Clerk and Recorder (Elected Official)

McKinsey & Company

Trusted advisor to Fortune 500 companies and large governments as they made critical strategic and operational decisions.

Management Consultant

The White House 

Served on President Obama's legal team during the defense of the Affordable Care Act and the DACA and DAPA immigration Executive Orders; the legalization of same-sex marriage; and dozens of high profile cabinet and judicial appointments.

Office of White House Counsel

Entrepreneur, speaker, author. Ex-CEO, McKinsey, Harvard Law, elected official. Volunteer firefighter. ✅Follow for daily tips to thrive at work AND in life.

Day job: Buying, selling, investing in, and growing small businesses. 
Side hustle: Helping YOU and your organization thrive.

In my full-time job as Founder of G&P LLC, I lead a team that acquires, manages, and grows businesses.

Outside of that work, I share personal and professional growth tips with hundreds of thousands of people through my newsletter and social media, and deliver keynote speeches and intimate presentations on leadership and growth to organizations across the world.

And I'd love to help you!
1) For free access to all of my leadership infographics, as well as a weekly newsletter with practical tips to thrive at work and in life: https://www.leadershipgs.com/newsletter
2) To book me as a speaker for your organization, simply send a DM.

And for more on my background, read on...

Now: 
+Founder and CEO at G&P LLC - acquiring, managing, and growing small businesses
+Writer and speaker for leaders and organizations across the globe

Previously: 
+McKinsey consultant: advised top Fortune 500 business leaders on critical decisions
+Harvard Law School, Magna Cum Laude: focused on business AND public policy
+Turnaround CEO of an online services company, growing EBITDA from -20% to 55% in 7
months
+Elected official: led large agency, winning four national innovation awards, 40 under 40, and getting featured on 60 Minutes, CNN, and dozens of other programs

Throughout:
+Volunteer firefighter, responding to 911 calls on everything from structure fires to car crashes, cardiac arrests, and mountain rescues; rookie firefighter of the year 2017 (this is what my kids have always thought my job is!)

George Stern

You're 8 habits away from a completely different year.

And they aren't difficult:

Most people look for big moves.

This is a mistake.

You don't need willpower marathons. 

You need tiny shifts that are impossible to fail at.

Here are 8 worth stealing:

1. 1 outreach message a day → 365 new connections a year
↳Expands your luck surface area without feeling like you're networking
↳Action: Send 1 warm note before you open your inbox

2. 10 pages of reading a day → 15 books a year
↳More ideas in circulation, more dots to connect
↳Action: Read 5 pages with morning coffee, 5 before bed

3. 1 tiny system improved each week → 52 smoother workflows a year
↳Fix one friction point at a time, not the whole system
↳Action: Each Friday, pick 1 bottleneck to tighten

4. 10 minutes of learning a day → 60 hours of growth a year
↳A full course's worth of skills without the overwhelm
↳Action: Queue a 10-minute lesson you can do on autopilot

5. 1 thank you a day → 365 micro-moments of goodwill a year
↳Quiet compounding for your relationships and reputation
↳Action: Send 1 acknowledgment before logging off

6. 10-minute walk after lunch → 60 hours of movement a year
↳Better energy with zero gym intimidation
↳Action: Set a recurring calendar nudge for 1pm

7. 2 focused hours a workday → 500 hours of true output a year
↳Enough to ship multiple major projects
↳Action: Block 2 "no meeting" windows and guard them

8. 15 extra minutes of sleep a night → 91 more hours of rest a year
↳The difference between fine and fully resourced
↳Action: Set your phone charging outside the bedroom


Small isn't small when you zoom out.

Which of these do you think has the biggest impact?

I have a special announcement coming soon that my newsletter will receive before the public.

Join founders, CEOs, owners, directors and more in learning how to level up your life:

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Tiny Habits With a Big Impact

10 visuals to reshape your mindset,

And elevate your career:

All images by visualhustles (follow on Instagram)

1) There's no such thing as the right moment
↳You create your own luck by showing up daily, regardless of how you feel

2) The real wins are earned when no one is watching
↳Practicing, learning, deep work, going the extra mile without credit - this is where the trophy is earned

3) You're guaranteed to lose if you never try
↳If you are so worried about failure that you never even try, you guarantee the one thing you are afraid of

4) The curiosity to learn creates uncapped growth potential
↳If you think you know everything, that's all you'll ever know

5) It has to go down before it goes up
↳Don't be discouraged - the path to success is paved with failures

6) Want to set yourself apart? Keep going
↳Many people wish for something, very few start, and even fewer keep going

7) Don't let perfection make you procrastinate
↳Focus on getting started and make it exist, then you can iterate and make it great

8) The day you plant the seed, isn't the day you eat the fruit
↳Stop expecting your goals to happen overnight

9) Wins stack up - FAST
↳If you keep focusing on doing the right things daily, you'll be blown away by the impact after a year

10) Done is better than perfect
↳Stop worrying about making everything perfect - focus on getting results


I'd love to know in the comments:

Which of these visuals stands out most to you?

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10 Visuals That Will Transform Your Mindset

Stop overcomplicating retention.

Employees stay when they have:

1. Great Leaders  
↳Managers are supportive and respectful, and make work feel worthwhile

2. Fair Salary
↳Compensation reflects both the market and their performance

3. Flexibility
↳They have a say over when, where, and how they work

4. Recognition 
↳Bosses recognize, celebrate, and say thank you for quality work

5. Meaning 
↳People feel they're a part of something meaningful

6. Development
↳Promotions, growth, or skill-building are clearly within reach

7. Security  
↳Different styles and opinions are welcome, and mistakes are okay

8. United Teams 
↳Teams connect, challenge, uplift, and remove bad apples

9. Impactful Work
↳The day-to-day work is energizing, challenging, and varied

10. Ownership
↳Leaders avoid micromanaging and trust their people

11. Balance
↳Employees can thrive at work without giving up their personal life

12. Appreciation
↳People aren't seen as a headcount, but as real humans with lives


Look out for your team,

And not only will they stay - 
They'll treat your customers better too.

Which one is the biggest priority in your view?

---

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Employees Stay When They Have... George Stern

The people who look the calmest?

They've survived the loudest battles:

They breathe through what most people fight.

Calm isn't luck - 
It's training.

It's knowing: 
↳When to act
↳When to wait
↳And when to walk away

It's trusting that composure gets you further than control.

You don't build that mindset overnight.

You build it through quiet choices that compound.

Here are 15 rules to start with:

1. Expect friction
↳Resistance isn't a red flag - it's the work showing up

2. Rest without guilt
↳Recovery keeps you in the game longer than intensity ever will

3. Keep promises to yourself
↳If you can't trust your own word, discipline won't stick

4. Clarity over confidence
↳Act on what you know, not how you feel

5. Detach from outcomes
↳You control effort, not the applause

6. Repeat what works
↳Boredom is a better teacher than burnout

7. Accept reality
↳You can't steer what you refuse to see

8. Play the long game daily
↳Think in years, act in days

9. Find calm in chaos
↳Breathe first, decide second

10. Stay useful under pressure
↳Emotions are signals, not instructions

11. Talk to yourself, not at yourself
↳The tone in your head becomes the tone in your life

12. Let others underestimate you
↳Silence compounds faster than validation

13. Seek discomfort
↳Growth hides where comfort ends

14. Drop the need to be right
↳Adaptation beats ego every time

15. Finish the reps
↳Follow-through is where confidence is built


Which rule will you come back to when pressure hits?

---

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Resilient Mindset - 15 Rules Mentally Tough People Live By. George Stern

Most people still misunderstand remote work.

But here's the reality:

They picture pajama days,
Long breaks,
And half-hearted effort.

But the reality is quieter,
More disciplined,
And a lot more intentional.

Here's what remote work looks like -

When you zoom out of the stereotypes:

1. Morning Rhythm
↳Assumption: Remote workers sleep in
↳Reality: They start earlier because there's no commute draining their morning

2. Effort
↳Assumption: Working from home means slacking
↳Reality: It means fewer random interruptions and more sustained focus

3. Routines
↳Assumption: They just roll out of bed and log in
↳Reality: They build routines that make their work sharper and their day smoother

4. Breaks
↳Assumption: Remote workers take long, aimless breaks
↳Reality: They take short, intentional breaks that boost energy and output

5. Productivity
↳Assumption: Productivity drops outside the office
↳Reality: Cutting out travel time adds hours back to meaningful work

6. Environment
↳Assumption: Home is full of distractions
↳Reality: People create workspaces that actually help them concentrate

7. Responsiveness
↳Assumption: Remote means unresponsive
↳Reality: It leads to clearer, more intentional communication

8. Accountability
↳Assumption: They're coasting when no one is watching
↳Reality: Their results speak loudly because output is the metric

9. Connection
↳Assumption: Remote work makes people disconnected
↳Reality: It gives them the margin to show up for coworkers and loved ones

10. Meetings
↳Assumption: They avoid meetings
↳Reality: They join fewer but more purposeful conversations

11. Difficulty
↳Assumption: Remote workers have it easy
↳Reality: They're balancing work and life without the chaos around it

12. Commitment
↳Assumption: Working from home reduces commitment
↳Reality: It creates healthier, more consistent performers with more to give at work


Remote work doesn't lower the bar.
It raises the need for clarity, ownership, and rhythm.

Which of these realities do you think most people misunderstand?

I go deeper on insights like this every Sunday with actionable advice in my newsletter.

Join founders, CEOs, owners, directors and more in learning how to grow in work and in life:

Subscribe here: 
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Reality of remote work - assumptions vs. reality. George Stern

Most people think high EQ means being nice. 

It doesn't:

It means being emotionally accurate.

Not sugarcoating. 
Not people-pleasing.

Just seeing yourself and others clearly -
Even when it's uncomfortable.

Niceness avoids tension.
EQ works through it.

Here's what real emotional intelligence looks like - 

And how you can build it:

1. Awareness
↳You notice what you feel before it runs the show
↳Pause for 10 seconds before reacting today

2. Curiosity
↳You ask, "What else might be true?" instead of judging
↳Replace one assumption with one question in your next conversation

3. Boundaries
↳You protect your energy, not your image
↳Say no once this week - without over-explaining

4. Empathy
↳You see others' pain without needing to fix it
↳Try: "That sounds hard, tell me more"

5. Honesty
↳You give feedback that's kind and clear
↳Practice saying one uncomfortable truth with calm tone

6. Composure
↳You stay grounded when others get heated
↳Breathe before you mirror their energy

7. Accountability
↳You own your impact, not just your intent
↳Ask: "How did that land for you?"

8. Perspective
↳You see conflict as information, not threat
↳Reframe: "What is this trying to teach me?"

9. Repair
↳You rebuild connection after rupture
↳Send one text or apology you've delayed

10. Discernment
↳You know when to speak and when to stay silent
↳Ask: "Does this add clarity or clutter?"

11. Patience
↳You give emotions time to settle before deciding
↳Wait 24 hours before sending that tough message

12. Courage
↳You care enough to confront
↳Take one step today that scares you but aligns with your values


High EQ isn't about being nice.

It's about being responsible with emotion - 
Yours and theirs.

Which of these 12 feels most relevant for you right now?

---

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Emotional Intelligence - 12 Ways to Build Real EQ - Not Just Be Nice. George Stern

You don't need extra hours.

You need stronger AI prompts:

Use these 21 ChatGPT prompts to win back 10 hours next week -

1. Inbox Reset
↳Prompt: "Take the role of my executive assistant. Here are 10 emails I'm unsure how to answer. Create concise, professional replies I can send or tweak."

2. Delegation Coaching
↳Prompt: "Here are 5 responsibilities on my list. Step in as a manager and help me choose what to offload, plus how to word each handoff."

3. Faster Meetings
↳Prompt: "Work as a meeting specialist. Here's the agenda. Help me shorten it by 30% without losing key outcomes or flow."

4. Daily Direction
↳Prompt: "Act as a productivity coach. Here's tomorrow's task list. Identify the top 3 priorities and outline a simple plan to protect time for them."

5. Calendar Tune-Up
↳Prompt: "Here's my upcoming week. Step in as a time strategist and help me group similar work, cut context switching, and create more deep-focus space."

6. Sunday Reset
↳Prompt: "Take the perspective of a performance coach. Build a 15-minute Sunday routine to review last week, shape the next, and start Monday steady."

7. System Tweaks
↳Prompt: "Pretend you're a workflow advisor. Here's a process I repeat weekly. Suggest straightforward ways to automate or simplify it with easy tools."

8. Decision Support
↳Prompt: "Here's a choice I'm hesitating on. Act like a coach and guide me through a step-by-step method to reach a clearer, faster decision."

9. Drafting Speed
↳Prompt: "Step in as a writing partner. Here's my topic. Help me sketch an outline and produce a rough draft for a clear blog post in under 15 minutes."

10. Quick-Action List
↳Prompt: "Here are 10 small tasks I've postponed. Help me design a brief plan to finish all of them in one focused 30-minute burst."

11. Rapid Understanding
↳Prompt: "Play the role of a research helper. I need to learn this topic quickly. Provide 5 credible sources, a two-sentence summary, and a recommended starting point."

12. Sprint Plan
↳Prompt: "Act as a productivity coach. Here's a task I've been avoiding. Break it into 25-minute segments with a clear target for each."

13. Document Cleanup
↳Prompt: "Take the role of an editor. Here's a tangled note or draft. Make it clean, scannable, and extract the main action steps."

14. Thought Partner
↳Prompt: "Act like a strategic partner. Here's a challenge I'm trying to understand. Explore 3 alternative angles or models to reframe it."

15. Insight Compression
↳Prompt: "Here's a long article or transcript. Condense the core concepts into 5 bullets and give me one concrete action."

[Check out the sheet for 6 more]

If you're not using AI to support your productivity,

You're losing hours you could be spending on what matters most.

Put these prompts to work.

You'll be glad you did.

Which one do you want to try first?

---

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21 ChatGPT Prompts That Will Save You Hours. George Stern

Are you respected... or liked?


Being liked feels good in the moment.

Being respected compounds for the long run.

These 8 shifts separate approval seekers from true leaders:

1. Avoids hard feedback → Gives clear direction
↳Softening truth helps no one grow
↳Action: State the real issue first, then offer one concrete next step

2. Waits for permission → Takes initiative
↳Leadership starts the moment you stop waiting to be told
↳Action: When something needs doing, move the first inch without asking

3. Says yes to stay agreeable → Says no to stay effective
↳Every yes without boundaries weakens your work
↳Action: Replace auto yes with "What's the priority?" before committing

4. Minimizes conflict → Guides conflict toward clarity
↳Avoidance keeps problems alive longer than honesty ever will
↳Action: Use this script: "Let's get to the root so we can solve it"

5. Hides mistakes → Owns mistakes fast
↳People trust the person who corrects issues, not the one who masks them
↳Action: Share the mistake, the cause, and the fix all in one message

6. Matches the room → Sets the tone
↳Influence comes from being the calmest, clearest presence in the space
↳Action: Before meetings, decide the energy you want to bring

7. Speaks vaguely to stay safe → Speaks plainly to stay useful
↳Clear language prevents confusion, rework, and drama
↳Action: Replace vague statements with specifics - "Here's what it means"

8. Tries to please everyone → Protects priorities
↳Trying to make everyone happy guarantees you disappoint yourself
↳Action: Schedule non negotiable focus blocks before helping others


Which shift do you need most right now?

---

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Are you liked or respected?

It isn't always the BEST managers who get promoted.

It's the ones who are best at this: 

Managing up.

Not politics -
Predictable communication that makes their impact unmistakable.

Because the people deciding your next step don't see all of your work.
They see what you translate and connect to the business.

You may prefer to put your head down and do your work. 

But the promotable manager makes being noticed easy.

Here are 11 behaviors that make all the difference:

1. Clarity
↳What: Provide short, skimmable updates
↳Why: Leaders skim, they don't decode
↳How: 3 bullets max with owner and date

2. Outcomes
↳What: Lead with your impact, not effort
↳Why: Activity doesn't differentiate you
↳How: Communicate the metric or result achieved

3. Preparation
↳What: Arm your manager with talking points on you
↳Why: They advocate in rooms you aren't in
↳How: Provide weekly wins and in-process updates

4. Alignment
↳What: Tie your work to the larger strategy
↳Why: Leaders promote upstream thinkers
↳How: Add a so what line to every update

5. Anticipation
↳What: Flag risks early
↳Why: Trust rises when surprises fall
↳How: Add a simple watch list to some of your updates

6. Options
↳What: Bring choices of solutions, not problems
↳Why: You lower cognitive load
↳How: Offer 2 paths and tradeoffs

7. Logic
↳What: Show how you make decisions
↳Why: Leaders promote logical and thorough thinkers
↳How: Share alternatives you considered

8. Calibration
↳What: Align expectations upfront
↳Why: Misalignment kills momentum
↳How: Send a kickoff recap with specific milestones

9. Reliability
↳What: Do what you say by when you say you will
↳Why: Predictability is promotable
↳How: Confirm commitments in writing

10. Steadiness
↳What: Avoid hot-headed outbursts
↳Why: Leaders escalate calm, not volatility
↳How: Pause, name the issue, propose next step

11. Context
↳What: Provide the essential information
↳Why: Leaders decide faster with crisp framing
↳How: Frame situations in 3 sentences max


Which one do you think can have the biggest impact?

I go deeper on topics that will help you get promoted in my newsletter.

Join founders, CEOs, owners, directors, and more in growing personally and professionally.

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How to Manage Up - 11 Ways to Get Promoted Faster as a Manager. George Stern

Leadership habits that push your best people away.

12 reasons high performers quit:

Most leaders do not lose great talent to better offers.

They lose them to repeat behaviors that chip away at motivation.

Here are 12 of the most common:

1. Everything is urgent
↳When every task is a crisis, none of them really are
↳Tip: Label priorities as hot/medium/cool so urgency stays rare

2. Managing every detail
↳Over-control sends a clear message - you do not trust them
↳Tip: Align on outcomes, then check in once a week instead of daily

3. Brushing off feedback
↳Top performers spot friction before it hits your radar
↳Tip: In every 1:1, ask: "What is getting in your way right now?"

4. Recognition on a delay
↳Once a year praise does not build commitment
↳Tip: Give a one-minute, specific thank you when it happens

5. Dodging tough conversations
↳Avoided issues eventually drain your strongest people
↳Tip: Have a direct, respectful conversation within 48 hours

6. Rewarding perception, not impact
↳Credit politics burn high performers fast
↳Tip: Tie public praise to measurable, visible contribution

7. Letting low standards slide
↳Great people will not stay where poor performance is ignored
↳Tip: Coach early and make adjustments quickly when needed

8. Taking away focus
↳Back to back meetings kill deep work
↳Tip: Build in one protected no meeting block each week

9. Leading only by metrics
↳Numbers matter, but meaning drives effort
↳Tip: Connect results to the purpose behind the work

10. Never saying no
↳Overloading the team sends them straight to burnout
↳Tip: Be explicit about what the team will not take on

11. Speed over quality
↳Pushing for done over done well lowers pride and standards
↳Tip: Set ambitious but realistic timelines and emphasize quality

12. Listening when it is too late
↳Exit interviews do not help the people who are still with you
↳Tip: Hold quarterly stay conversations and ask: "What would keep you here long term?"


Use this as a guide to avoid the patterns that quietly erode trust.

Your best people do not need perks.

They need consistent and grounded leadership.

Which of these is the most damaging?

---

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Why great people quit - avoid the leadership traps that drive them away. By george stern

Most think accountability means owning mistakes.

It doesn't:

It's important to take ownership of mistakes -
But real accountability goes beyond that.

It's not what you do after things go wrong.
It means owning outcomes - 
Before they go wrong.

12 ways to practice proactive accountability 

(the kind that builds trust instead of repairing it):

1. Flag Risks Early
↳If you see a timeline or scope slipping, speak up fast
↳Say "I might need to adjust expectations here before this slips"

2. Ask for Help
↳Accountability isn't solo heroics
↳Name what you need before you hit the wall

3. Confirm Assumptions
↳Misalignment hides in what's unsaid
↳Repeat back what you think you're delivering, out loud or in writing

4. Share Progress Regularly
↳Silence breeds worry
↳Send a short update even when there's nothing "done" yet

5. Adjust Scope
↳Don't cling to the original plan if conditions change
↳Re-negotiate priorities early, not after missing them

6. Set Clear Boundaries
↳Overcommitting is under-communicating in disguise
↳Say "I can do X by Friday, not Y"

7. Document Decisions
↳Memory fades - paper doesn't
↳Capture what was agreed and who owns what

8. Clarify Ownership
↳When everyone's responsible, no one is
↳Ask "Who's driving this?" before it drifts

9. Surface Uncertainties
↳You can't manage what you hide
↳Say "I'm 70% confident in this plan, here's what's unclear"

10. Close Loops
↳Follow up on what you promised, even if it's small
↳"Quick note: that item's done" builds quiet trust

11. Reflect Publicly
↳Share lessons, not just results
↳"Here's what I'd do differently next time"

12. Model Calm Ownership
↳Accountability without blame changes team culture
↳Own outcomes without overreacting


Proactive accountability doesn't make you perfect.
It makes you reliable.

And reliability is how trust compounds.

Which of these 12 would make the biggest difference in how your team operates?

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♻️ Repost to inspire others to speak up.

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Real Accountability - 12 Habits of Proactive Ownership. George Stern

15 negotiation phrases that change the tone instantly - 

And help you close the deal: 

Negotiations should invite collaboration -
Not combat.

It's not about being tough. 
It's about staying calm, curious, and clear:

1. "Help me understand how you got to that number"
↳Slows the pace and gets them to reveal reasoning

2. "What would make this a win for you?"
↳Surfaces priorities before positions harden

3. "Let's explore a few options"
↳Shifts from fixed to flexible thinking

4. "That's interesting - can you tell me more?"
↳Buys time while keeping the tone open

5. "If we did X, could you do Y?"
↳Keeps concessions reciprocal, not one-sided

6. "I want this to work for both of us"
↳Signals fairness without surrendering leverage

7. "What's your flexibility on that?"
↳Invites movement without confrontation

8. "Let's look at the numbers together"
↳Shifts debate into collaboration

9. "Can we revisit that later once we've solved A/B?"
↳Park minor disagreements to build momentum

10. "What would make you comfortable moving forward?"
↳Encourages them to design the close

11. "I appreciate the offer - here's where I'm coming from"
↳Balances gratitude with clarity

12. "I can't commit to that yet, but here's what I can do"
↳Keeps control and shows effort

13. "Let's put everything on the table for a second"
↳Clears the air when talks stall

14. "It sounds like we're close - what's missing?"
↳A subtle close technique

15. "If I were in your shoes, I'd want clarity too"
↳Builds trust fast when things feel tense


Which phrase do you plan to steal?

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♻️ Repost to help others in their negotiations.

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Negotiation Toolkit - 15 Phrases to Shift Any Conversation. George Stern

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