When I was a kid, we’d sometimes go for a Sunday drive after church. I suspect my mother, a widow with two kids, just wanted some quiet time, but I remember mostly being bored. We lived in the Midwest and frankly, once you’ve seen one field of sugar beets, the others aren’t that interesting! We […]
If you’re an executive and aren’t a bit anxious (or excited, if you’re an optimist!) about the rate of change in the business world, my guess is you’re just not paying attention. Either that or you sell toilet paper and aren’t worried about a new disruptive technology. Even a toilet paper company, however, could find […]
A fascinating and critical question for leaders: Do you reward behavior or victories? Consider these situations: You have a well-established business model but are concerned that it’s too old and a startup may soon eat your lunch. You fund a new division to build out some adjacent product lines. It gets three to market; two […]
The following is an excerpt from my book, “Never Kick a Cow Chip On A Hot Day” (2016) Morgan James Publishing. Most executives squander too much of their most valuable resource, their time.Here is how to get a good return on that asset. Getting a Return On Your Time The $59 time-management seminar I went […]
“In all the time I spent with him, I never once heard him refer to his ability to see the future. He couldn’t see it — that’s why he had to grope for it.” —Michael Lewis, “The New New Thing” (talking about entrepreneur Jim Clark) Jim Clark famously founded Netscape, Silicon Graphics, myCFO and Healtheon […]
The following is an excerpt from my book, “Never Kick a Cow Chip On A Hot Day” (2016) Morgan James Publishing. The final chapter is titled, “Balancing For Big Shots.” Here is part of my answer to the question, “How do I balance my life as an executive?” Selfishness Has A Bad Rep… Did you […]
Leaders with people in their business who are looking to increase their bottom line have a choice regarding how to do it. Let’s assume you produce $100 worth of goods or services with $20 of labor input yielding $80 of profit. You can try to cut 25 percent of your labor cost to produce that […]
Some leadership books are timeless My sous chef Alexa and I were cooking dinner the other night, and I asked her, “Alexa, play top songs from 1981.” (I didn’t say please. I know she’s artificial intelligence, but I still feel guilty.) 1981 is the year our first child was born. After listening to about 10 […]
“Every CEO has an open flank.” —Ram Charan No one is great at everything. CEOs who think they must know everything (or think they do know everything!) are on a fast track to disappointment and failure. Most CEOs know this and plug the hole by gaining knowledge or hiring to fill in for their weakness—if […]
I came down to breakfast the other morning and my wife had an exasperated look on her face. When I asked what was wrong, she said, “I just want to be as smart as a squirrel!” We have multiple bird feeders in our yard, and she has purchased many devices to foil the squirrels’ ability […]