Blog Posts by Fred Nickols

Sea Stories by "Nick" 

• The Importance of Sea Stories
• Aye-Aye, Sir: The Limits of Authority
• Gunner Mintz: Lucked Out Again
• The Division and Coordination of Labor
• Willy's Story: A Sea Story about 'Running Room'
• Out of Uniform: In Which I Meet Up with Steve Canyon
• The Computer is Down
• Friends in High Places
• Some Conflict Resolution Magic
• Sex and the Single Sailor
• Gaming the System
• Have 'em Put their Names on It - A Story about Recognition
• "Chief of the Boat" - An Offer I Hated to Refuse

• Four Problem Solving Tips - 1: Focus on the Solved State (21 Apr 2009)
• Four Problem Solving Tips - 2: Be Clear about ALL Your Objectives (27 Apr 2009)
• Four Problem Solving Tips - 3: View Problem Solving as a "Cover the Bases" Activity (29 Apr 2009)
• Four Problem Solving Tips - 4: Draw Pictures of the Problem (4 May 2009)
• Making Decisions Like Benjamin Franklin (11 Aug 2009)
• Understanding Your Company's Performance Architecture (17 Aug 2009)
• The Urgent Should Displace the Important (20 Aug 2009)
• What Do Shooting Down Enemy Airplanes and Solving Business Problems Have in Common? (Part 1 - 4 Sep 2009)
• What Do Shooting Down Enemy Airplanes and Solving Business Problems Have in Common? (Part 2 - 9 Sep 2009)
• Five Ways Leaders Screw Up their Change Initiatives (15 Sep 2009)
• Strategy IS Execution: Don't Shoot Yourself in the Foot (22 Sep 2009)
• From Start Up to Shut Down: The Rise and Fall of an Organization (28 Sep 2009)
• Corporate Culture: A Case of Monkey-See, Monkey Do? (12 Oct 2009)
• Getting from Losses to Commitments: The Change Acceptance Cycle (16 Oct 2009)
• Lessons in Bad Management: Felix the Flying Frog (5 Nov 2009)
• Three Kinds of Strategy (30 Nov 2009)
• Fit and Fitness: The Yin and Yang of Organizational Sustainability (7 Dec 2009)
• How Visual Aids Facilitate Strategic Planning (14 Dec 2009)
• A Strategic Planning Tool: The Goals Grid (12 Jan 2010)
• Strategic Planning for the Strategically Impaired (4 Feb 2010)
• Fitting Your Management Practices to the Kind of Work being Managed (19 Mar 2010)
• Thinking about Strategic Planning (26 Mar 2010)
• The Many Roles Visuals Play in Solving Business Problems (12 Apr 2010)
• Break the Culture Trap: Go for the Banana (21 Aug 2012)
• Surviving Business Climate Change (27 Aug 2012)

• A Seat at the Table: The Trainer's Dilemma (Training Journal: 21 July 2010)
• A Case of Diminishing Returns? (Training Journal 27 September 2010)
• Why Trainers Don't Get No Respect (Training Journal 3 November 2010)
• Task vs Skill Training (Training Journal 14 January 2011)
• Training Needs Assessment 101 (Training Journal 1 February 2011)
• The ROI of Training: Is It A Quixotic Quest? (Training Journal 14 March 2011)
• What Really is Communication (Training Journal 30 March 2011)
• Leveraging the Kirkpatrick Model (Training Journal 21 April 2011)

Note:  "A Seat at the Table" also appeared in Learning Solutions Magazine on 23 Aug 2010.