Aaron U. Bolin, Ph.D.

One of my tasks at work recently was to measure organizational learning. "How would I know if my organization is a learning organization," I wondered? Training activity seemed to be the most common answer. The logic is easy to refute when simply stated: If we offer a lot of training opportunities and a lot of people attend, then we must be a learning organization. The evidence of individual learning is a change in behavior, or at least a change in the behavioral options available. But how does that translate to the organizational level? With just a little bit of background reading (thank you Peter Senge), I came up with a tentative checklist. It still needs some refinement, but here it is: 1. Does the organization have a shared vision; does everyone know what it is and how their actions support it? 2. Is personal mastery expected; are learning and growth required of individuals in the organization? 3. Does the organization utilized team-based approaches to learn

My chicken journey started in 2013. I was experimenting with gardening, and learned from a library book that chicken manure is prized as a fertilizer. As I investigated further, I learned more about the conditions in which chickens are raised on industrial farms and was very surprised. Partly in protest, partly for the fertilizer, partly in the spirit of experimentation, I decided to try raising a small flock. The reasons people raise chickens at home are varied, and the trend is growing. No one tracks chicken ownership statistics, but my own experience suggests that the trend is exponential. When I bought my first set of chicks, no one I knew in my suburban community was raising backyard chickens. Twelve months later, five families in our immediate area have started small flocks. Before joining the trend, prospective chicken owners should consider the following points: .. Check Local Ordinances and Rules Read the whole article: http://voices.yahoo.com/keeping-backyard-chick

Be honest: have you ever taken 1-second naps at a meeting? What if the room is hot, the meeting is after lunch, the topic is boring, and the speaker has the charisma of a rock? Have you ever drawn doodles at a meeting? Daydreamed? Checked your messages? Do you think it is rude to act bored at a meeting? It isn't. It is rude to have bad meetings. If my meetings are bad, I am at fault. If your meetings are bad, then it is your fault. Most meetings are "BAD" for two reasons: (1) Nobody wants to be there, and (2) Nothing gets done. Part of the problem is that many meetings are simply not necessary. There is only one reason to ever call a meeting; meetings are to develop shared understanding. If you need shared understanding, call a meeting. Otherwise, don't. If you must have a meeting, then you owe it to the attendees to plan for success. The first rule of successful meetings is: Rule #1. Only call a meeting if you plan to keep minutes. Read more: http://voices

KPI Definition Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) are measured evidence that desired business results are being achieved. KPI's are feedback about how the business is performing. KPI's are essentially metrics linked in a meaningful way to an important business objective. These are the "critical few" measures that you need to know to get the job done. Goals define the end results we hope to achieve, and KPI's define the measurements used to monitor progress toward goal attainment. As a general rule, if you will not make business decisions based on a measure, then that measure is not a KPI. Purpose of KPI's When structured to reflect business strategy, KPI's provide business owners with answers to important business questions, help managers understand how their organizations are performing in relation to their strategic goals, and provide an indicator to determine whether performance is on track. The term KPI tends to be misunderstood and

During green belt training in November 2013, we set a new world record for the statapult simulation. Team BD hit 198 of 203 shots in 5 minutes after reducing the target area from 6" X 12" to 3" X 6". Not quite a six sigma standard of quality (only 98% yield), but impressive given that the baseline shoot was only 7 of 10 hits in the larger target area; production volume went up 2030% while improving accuracy.

In spite of near constant vigilance, chickens are sometimes unaware of obvious dangers. These three hens are very concerned about the imaginary dangers from behind, to the left, and to the right. However, they miss the obvious and near term threat right ahead. In 50-some-odd performance improvement projects, I have noticed a strong and consistent trend. For every 10 improvements proposed, 8 will be endorsed by the sponsor as valid, and roughly 3 will be implemented. The reason: proposed improvements almost always focus on the cat ahead, but sponsors see both the cat ahead and the potential cats coming from other directions.

A Novel Review: Suburban Days by Aaron U. Bolin : Reviewed by Charlotte Lynn Taken from Goodreads: Trapped in obscurity, Eric Sage must establish his own identity. He battles a ho...