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I published my book, Office Optional: How To Build A Connected Culture With Virtual Teams right before the Covid-19 pandemic began. The timing was fortuitous. Seemingly the whole world switched to remote work; what I thought would happen 10 years out was rapidly taking place in a matter of weeks.

Bestselling author, attorney, and speaker Kwame Christian believes that the best things in life are on the other side of difficult conversations. Director of the American Negotiation Institute, Kwame Christian is a respected voice in the field of negotiation and conflict resolution and is dedicated to empowering professionals through the art and science of persuasion. And he's joining us as a keynote speaker at the 2022 COE Summit.

“If you had a magic wand, what is the first thing that you would fix in an organization you’re coaching?” Chris Burnham asked me this question when I recorded a guest spot on his Lean Leadership podcast. My answer was simple: If I could wave a magic wand, I would instantly develop the capabilities and the habits of all the leaders in the plant to Leverage the Positive by giving effective reinforcing feedback – or effective recognition feedback.

The most successful companies have a culture that supports and advances its key goals and strategies. Culture serves as the company’s foundation; it makes expectations clear, illustrates norms for interactions, and articulates language used between colleagues. In other words, it describes “the way we do things around here.” 

The 2022 COE Summit is a 2-day virtual event will bring together dozens of industry experts and leading researchers and hundreds of professionals to get in front of the latest best practices in leadership, problem-solving, and continuous improvement. If you've been on the fence about attending a virtual conference, here's why you should consider it: Learning and development is as important as ever.

The following blog post is guest-authored by Angus Fletcher, who will be delivering a keynote address at the 2022 COE Summit. 

The pace of change is moving faster than ever, and organizations are becoming defined by their ability to adapt and anticipate disruption. Growing as an innovative, adaptive organization means supporting a culture of continuous learning. Each year, The Ohio State University Center for Operational Excellence offers an opportunity to get your cross-functional teams in front of the latest best practices in leadership and problem-solving at the COE Summit.

In 2021, COE curated a lineup of experts to speak (virtually) on topics ranging from supply chain, leadership, and the future of work to diversity, lean transformation, and robotic process automation. As the year draws to a close, we wanted to share a selection of books recommended by several of our speakers.

What is Lean and why is it important? We sat down with Eric Olsen, Director for Central Coast Lean and Professor of Industrial Technology in the Orfalea College of Business at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, to discuss the benefits of Lean and his upcoming New to Lean workshop. Check it out here: