Author Archives: OJ

About OJ

I am a retired first line manager with over 40 years of experience. In operations management, accounting management, and central operations management. It is my wish to convey some of the experiences I have learned form over the years in the articles on my site.

First Line Manager: Are You a Jerk?

Posted on May 31, 2015 by OJ

I believe some of the employees I have managed thought I was a jerk. Maybe I was the right kind of jerk suggested in this article I read. Jerry Useem in a June 2015 Atlantic article, “Why it pays to … Continue reading →

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The First Line Manager: Trust begins a process that leads to success.

Posted on March 19, 2015 by OJ

What can trust do for a first line manager? Trust opens opportunities for you. As night auditor at the Ramada in Tuscaloosa, I thought management did not care about how I did my job. I performed night audits prior to … Continue reading →

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First line manager: Change Must Be Doable, Seeable, and Feelable.

Posted on February 22, 2015 by OJ

Is change inevitable? Absolutely. Change is necessary. Change can come from the first line manager’s department or elsewhere. Either way, change is the first line manager’s responsibility to implement in his department. The primary value of change is to create … Continue reading →

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Effective Meetings Begin Before The Meeting

Posted on August 21, 2014 by OJ

Effective Meetings Begin Before the Meeting All meetings, in a way, are sales meetings. You don’t meet just to meet. There is a sale involved even if you are not selling a product. Change has to be sold. Meetings have … Continue reading →

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First Line Manager: Creativity, Never Get Stuck Again

Posted on July 9, 2014 by OJ

As a little boy, I was taught, in Sunday school, humans are all created in the image of God. I never understood this as a boy. Now, I think I do. God is creative; so are humans. This creativity is … Continue reading →

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