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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Stephen Hawley Martin is a former principal of The Martin Agency in Richmond and the author of more than half a dozen books including his newest, Lean Enterprise Leader: How to Get Things Done Without Doing It All Yourself. He is editor and publisher of The Oaklea Press, a book publishing business dedicated primarily to helping business executives increase productivity. He can be reached at shmartin@oakleapress.com

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Is it a cost or an investment?
March 7, 2006
Business executives hear proposals almost daily on terrific ways to spend the company's money. But the question for people controlling the purse strings must always be: Is it a cost or an investment? The key to effective cost control is determining if the money spent would be a cost (for something that would be nice to have) or an investment (for something with an expected return that is critical to success to business).
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What really is behind the decline in the number of U.S. manufacturing jobs?
February 28, 2006
For more than 10 years, manufacturing companies around the globe have been changing the way they work. Most people employed in service industries may have barely noticed, but this transformation has resulted in huge benefits for almost everyone. It's a primary reason that labor productivity has been up about 4 percent annually in recent years and the prices of manufactured goods have remained steady, or even dropped.
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Just what is a lean enterprise?
February 21, 2006
People who don't know about the lean movement and what it entails often assume it simply means doing more with less. They think this is accomplished by having everyone work harder. They are wrong. More is done with less by having everyone work smarter.
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How to take the next step in your continuous pursuit of excellence
February 14, 2006
General Motors recently announced it will trim 30,000 jobs and close nine U.S. plants over the next few years to balance production capacity and demand. That's big news, and in GM's case, absolutely necessary to bring costs in line with competition. You see, 30 years ago the company had about 60 percent of the market for cars in North America. Nowadays, that's more than all major domestic automobile companies combined.
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Five steps leaders can take to get the whole team pulling its weight
February 7, 2006
According to recently published data, 31 percent of college-educated male workers regularly log 50 or more hours a week at work, up from 22 percent in 1980. About 40 percent of American adults get less than seven hours sleep on weekdays, up from 34 percent in 2001. For these folks, meals are rushed and lunches are choked down on the run. Yet a recent study by America Online and Salary.com says the average worker wastes 2.09 hours a day surfing the Internet, chatting with co-workers, running errands or making personal phone calls, costing employers about $759 billion a year in unproductive salaries.
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Six Quick and Easy Ways Companies Can Save
January 31, 2006
There's not an executive alive who wouldn't cut company expenses if it could be done without sacrificing quality or service, and if the move didn't take a lot of effort. The problem is finding the time to figure out where to cut and how such savings can be realized.
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How to create accountability and urgency to reach your company's objectives
January 24, 2006
In companies that still operate through a traditional hierarchal pyramid (with employees at the bottom reporting to managers, who report to supervisors, who report to vice president-directors and so on) responsibility for accomplishing objectives usually rests with those who report to the chief operating officer or the CEO. These top reports have the job of lighting a fire under those who report to them, who in turn light a fire under those who report to them, and so on down the line. But what happens when the hierarchy has been eliminated and the company operates through interlocking, empowered teams? How can management create urgency and be sure progress is being made?
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A win-win strategy is the best way to succeed in negotiations
January 17, 2006
Let's face it. People make decisions based on their own interests. It follows, then, that the key to successful negotiating is finding creative and effective ways of satisfying those interests - theirs, while meeting yours as well.
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When it comes to teamwork, diversity prevents myopia
January 10, 2006
Cross-functional teams can be extremely effective, particularly in tackling a specific challenge or opportunity. The question is: What's the best way to set one up and to organize it to ensure the maximum chance of success?
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First five steps every executive should make when taking charge
January 3, 2006
At the end of 1995, a good friend of mine, William T. Monahan, was given the opportunity to form and lead a $2.4 billion business made up of units being spun off from 3M Co. Most people would jump at such an offer, but Bill knew it wasn't going to be a rose garden. The units were being let go because they were a drag on 3M. Still, Bill's the kind of guy who doesn't mind taking a calculated risk. He'd been successful in previous turnaround situations, so he took the job. In short order, it was apparent he had a bucking bronco on his hands.
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Stephen Hawley Martin is a former principal of The Martin Agency in Richmond and the author of more than half a dozen books including his newest, Lean Enterprise Leader: How to Get Things Done Without Doing It All Yourself. He is editor and publisher of The Oaklea Press, a book publishing business dedicated primarily to helping business executives increase productivity.