Friday, February 27, 2009

Forty Year of Leadership in Columbus

Columbus, OH, February 27, 2009 -- Leadership Management Institute (LMI) celebrates 40 years of service in Columbus.

LMI is based in Waco, TX and offers leadership development across the world helping leaders and organizations improve performance results.

The LMI Columbus region was established in 1969 by Lou Cummins, who led the organization until 2003 when Michael Diercks become the Managing Partner and Regional President. In addition to Lou and Michael, there have been many key contributors who have made LMI a major player in the Columbus business community over the year.

During those 40 years, LMI has provided leadership training and support to a host of public and private organizations throughout the Central Ohio area, including Attorney General of Ohio, State of Ohio - State Highway Patrol, Children's Hospital, Ernst & Young, Ohio Education Association, Ohio School Board, Commerce National Bank, Hopewell Federal Credit Union, Ohio Savings Bank, Winfree, Ruff & Associates, Ltd., Abbot Labs / Ross Products Division, Best Lighting Products, Inc., Equity Real Estate, T&R Properties, Aetna Building Maintenance, Rescue Rooter, Time Warner Cable, AEP, White Castle, Worthington Industries, Key Blue Prints, Liqui-Box Corp., Stouffer Hotels, Kokosing Construction Co., Highlights for Children, Chesrown Oldsmobile, Speer Industries, Midwest Acoust-a-Fiber, Sharper Impressions Painting, US Tank Alliance, Cartridge World, Midwest Electric, PuroClean, Swan Cleaners, Superior Die Tool & Machine, Sterling Process Engineering, Caspan Software, Columbus Port Authority, Safelite Auto Glass, Daniel Logistics, and Rosati Windows.

LMI stands ready to provide benefits to the leaders of any organization. For further information and to discover how your organization could benefit from Leadership Management Institute, please contact the local LMI office at 614-823-8150 or visit us on the web at www.lmi-columbus.com and discover how the forty years – and continuing – of LMI service can help you and your company improve performance.

Thursday, February 5, 2009


STOP SPENDING MONEY!

Yes, the economy in the tank!

Yes, the banks are holding on to “their” money!

Yes, businesses are going belly up!

Yes, stocks are plunging into the tank!

So – it’s time to stop spending money!
or is it?

Does the copier jam every once in a while?

Are your computers still running old software that should be updated? Does your equipment need some adjustments? How about your fleet of trucks, do they need an oil change?

It would be shortsighted not to fix these problems.

Continually unjamming the copier - time waster and frustration.
Computer software that isn't up to date - invalid data or erroneous reports sent to the IRS!
Not fixing your equipment - major customer problems and financial disaster.
Not servicing your trucks - breakdowns and delays.

Maintenance is simply the cost of doing business following the idea of "you can pay me now or you can pay me later". It is inconceivable that you would run a business without maintaining the assets that make the operation run efficiently.

Yet, when it comes to our people – “our greatest asset” – we treat them like liabilities.

On the one hand, we stop “maintaining” our employees, let alone try to “enhance” our employees. On the other hand, we expect them to …

"Do more with less!" "Be a team player!"

"Adapt to change!" “Just work harder!”

"Get out there and sell more!"

Instinctively, we know that our employees have potential that isn’t being utilized. Somehow, we believe if we say the right words, create enough motivation (“you still have a job, don’t you?”) and assume that everyone will step it up, our problem is solved.

This thinking is kind of like expecting the copy machine to fix itself by run more copies or software to correct the data on its own by blindly using the system. I call this the “hope-a, hope-a, hope-aleadership style.

Sorry but lectures, motivational speeches, and platitudes are not enough. People need to hone their current skills and develop new skills.

The good news is, some organizations are on top of this incredible need. We've already seen a change in 2009. The right type of training builds trust, loyalty, and confidence—not to mention competence. It assuages fear and worry.

The right training will do two things for a company.

1) Help facilitate change so they can survive and grow in this economy.

2) Position the organization to explode when the economy turns.

Make no mistake; all recessions go away. All sour economies rebound. So the only question is, will you be prepared? You will if you believe …

It's Time To Train!

Michael D. Diercks, Regional President, LMI - Serving Columbus for 40 years!

Partnering with Leaders to Increase Results and Enhance Value!

(614)823-8150 - www.lmi-columbus.com - mdiercks@lmi-columbus.com - http://lmi-columbus.blogspot.com