After many years of doing a weightlifting maneuver called a “clean,” I got one almost right. For most of this period I blamed my poor cleans on genetic issues. “It’s my mother’s fault!” But the coaches at my current gym won’t listen to my excuses and are correcting years of bad practice; 15 years of […]
One of the most egregious time wasters in companies is meetings or energy spent without a real purpose. I was reminded of this as I read our local paper recently. (I live in Boulder, Colo.—a wonderful community that has a whackadoodle reputation, sometimes warranted.) There was an article about a meeting with the city council, […]
I’ve been thinking about risk management lately. Some risk I welcome and some I don’t. Skiing a no-fall zone chute is still pretty fun and a trip to a remote area of the Amazon was outstanding! Replacing two furnaces, a humidifier, and a water heater all in one year at my house, not so much. […]
Do you feel lucky? If you’re old enough, you might remember Clint Eastwood asking this in a Dirty Harry movie as he points a gun at a perp. That’s not quite the frame of mind I want to put you in. Rather, try this: Think about something that recently caused you to feel happy and […]
This is the most worn book on my bookshelf. First published in 1973, I bought it in graduate school decades ago and still pull it out frequently. If you’re in business and don’t know who Peter Drucker is, you’re not well-versed—like an American history major who doesn’t know Abraham Lincoln, a foodie who doesn’t know […]
Once there was a company so bold, They ignored artificial intelligence, they were so cold. They thought they knew better, they thought they were smart, But oh how they faltered, and oh how they fell apart. They refused to listen, to algorithms and code, They stuck to their old ways, and thought themselves bestowed. But […]
When skiing bumps (moguls), you must do numerous things right. Keep your weight centered, hands forward, and face down the fall line. Find your line by looking multiple turns ahead. And so on. Get one wrong and it’s messy. Best thing to do when you’re off your line? Stop. Have a conversation with yourself and […]
The lawn care crew came yesterday to do fall cleanup on our yard. We have a few trees that don’t drop leaves until December, so I’m often one of the last in the neighborhood to do this. I walked down to breakfast and as the sun came up, I thought, “The yard looks great!” Half […]
You like potato, I like potahto. Who cares? You call it a problem; I say it’s a decision. Who cares? You should! They don’t require the same process. CEOs and other leaders are constantly faced with problems to solve, decisions to make and opportunities to explore. It is critical, however, to know the difference. The […]
The Wall Street Journal recently reported this: “Software giant Microsoft Corp., in a recent survey of more than 20,000 people, found that 87% of employees say they are productive at work, while only 12% of leaders have confidence that their workers are being productive.” I’m protective of the C-suite as those are the people I […]