Last week I shared my learning about Natural Law #18—“Everything is naturally related and interconnected”—and how important it is for us to create as many connections across all parts of our companies as we possibly can. Our long-term organizational health and our alignment with nature likely depends on it. More positive connections across the organization […]
It’s our 50th year! That’s right. The Big 5-O! And the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses (ZCoB) is healthier, happier, and more financially sound than ever. We have continued to break creative ground in the worlds of progressive business, service, food, work experiences, love and care. In an era where electronic interaction is now the norm, […]
About 25 years ago my partner Paul started talking about the idea of Natural Laws of Business; laws that—like gravity—were simply true. All thriving businesses, he suggested, were living in harmony with those Natural Laws. About a decade later I took Paul’s concept and fleshed it out further in Part 1, Secret #1: “The Twelve Natural Laws […]
In prior installments in The Guide to Open Book Management posts, you learned what Open Book Management is, The Case for Open Book Management, and if Open Book is right for your business. Next up, an overview of the key components of Open Book Management… Open Book Management is a system used to run the […]
Over all these years, I’ve been fortunate to connect—either directly, or indirectly through their books and teachings—with so many terrifically creative thinkers. People who have impacted my worldviews in meaningful ways, and given me insights that led to significant shifts in beliefs. Each has taught me new tools and approaches that have helped enormously in […]
At the end of this week, I have a new pamphlet coming out. Like the pandemic, it wasn’t something I’d planned for. While the idea for the previous pamphlet—“Humility: A Humble, Anarchistic, Inquiry”—had been in the works for over a year, the idea for this one only came into my head a couple months ago. […]
Can creativity, caring, dignity, and humbleness help our organizations and our communities get—and stay—healthy? It may sound naïve, but I believe that if we do them well, we can make Dostoevsky’s 19th century declaration into a reality: “The world will be saved by beauty.” We’ve all heard of “death by a thousand cuts.” I want […]
Sometimes, small shifts in wording can work wonders. As Governor Gretchen Whitmer said a few months ago, “Words matter.” Which is why I keep coming back to a realization that I had while working on the new pamphlet “Humility: A Humble, Anarchistic Inquiry.” As I shared in the latter half of the pamphlet, I began […]
What if I told you we had an organizational tool that gets better, longer lasting results than the old command-and-control approach? That it helps develop effective leadership skills across all levels of the organization. Encourages humility in everyone. Actively and systemically engages diverse perspectives in meaningful conversation. Cuts down on unpleasant surprise changes that can […]
In Part I and Part II of The Guide to Open Book Management posts, you learned what Open Book Management is and Making Case for Open Book Management. Next up, helping you determine, is Open Book right for your business? In The Guide to Open Book Management, you’ve learned: 1. What is Open Book Management? […]
One of the common pieces of conversation prompted by the pandemic has been that “after this is over, everything is going to be different.” It sounds uplifting… though I’m not sure what people are imagining will have changed. While a crisis (personal or collective) can cause reflection, more often than not, when it’s over, things […]
Maria Popova writes, “The history of the world is the history of telling others who and what we are—from tribal markings to national flags to family crests to pronoun-specifying email signatures.” How we choose to tell our stories—and what artifacts we choose to highlight—alters the way we hear our past, experience our present, and create […]
