Category: Articles

Random acts don’t equal strategy.

Organizational challenges often have symptoms that don’t readily illuminate the underlying issue. Here is a model to think about.

I was the CEO for several private equity (PE) owned firms and have coached numerous CEOs who worked in PE-owned firms. I’ve encountered wonderful people from PE, but also too many that behave like boorish know-it-alls — the so called “smartest guys in the room” (yup, mostly guys). I’m writing about the latter group. … […]

Direct Communication Requires Practice At the time I wrote this, my kitchen counter was full of ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner. I like to cook, so it was a pleasure to pull it all together. If only potatoes and dressing were good for you. … My mind—perhaps from too much anticipated tryptophan—went from trussing turkey to […]

Turning Good Intentions Into Process If you’re interested in a fascinating and successful culture, click the link below to The Wall Street Journal article in regards to Amazon’s leadership principles. After reading it, c’mon back now, ya hear?! Amazon Has Become America’s CEO Factory Cool — you made it back! Let’s explore a few things… […]

Don’t go beyond the guardrails, but be real! In a recent session with a CEO and his executive team, we discussed personality preferences as they relate to leadership. One member is particularly stoic, yet the CEO is intense and emotional. This question came up: “Is it OK to show emotions?” I’ve heard this query before […]

CEO Leadership Traits You might ask, “Where’s he going with this one?” Sermons in the lunchroom? Support of capitalism? Neither, but I might soon take a shot at the capitalism piece given some current political rhetoric. I consider myself a data-driven, evidence-based guy. “What evidence do you have of that?” is a common question for […]

Wander With Wonder MBWA. You’ve probably heard of it: management by wandering (or walking) around. Peters and Waterman made the phrase famous in their 1982 book “In Search of Excellence.” At the time, I was a store manager at Kinko’s (no longer around after FedEx bought the company) and went on to be responsible for […]

Choices — You Have More Than You Think! People in victim mode don’t often get into senior leadership roles. Eeyore’s favorite food is thistles, and that makes for a very negative, grumpy life. In my experience, professional victims have decided they have few choices in life. They were late because of traffic, not poor planning. […]

Effective Leaders Know How Is As Important As What The “what” of business is critical. Where you’re going (vision) and the path you’ll take to get there (strategy) to profitably address a market. They’re necessary, but not sufficient. As Peter Drucker said, “Many brilliant people believe that ideas move mountains. But bulldozers move mountains; ideas […]