Learning from the rest of the universe Years ago when Kinko’s was growing rapidly, our founder took the senior people to the graduate business school at the University of Southern California for an annual week of development. If you have been through an MBA program, you’ve likely encountered the case study format of learning—nothing new […]
A friend sent me an email the other day with some quotes from Will Rogers, the famous cowboy cutup from the early 1900s. My father-in-law, whom I admired, used to say things like, “Let’s mount up!” when we were supposed to get in the car to go to dinner, so it struck a chord with […]
Meryl Streep once famously remarked in a commencement address to college students: “You have been told that real life is not like college, and you have been correctly informed. Real life is more like high school.” Remember the important stuff you used to worry about in high school, such as where you sat, with whom […]
Companies that try to serve multiple masters with one model get into trouble Years ago, I got a call from a customer who was mad as hell. She was from Dearborn, Michigan, and frequented a store we had there. At the time, I was in charge of 350 Kinko’s stores. (For you youngsters who weren’t […]
I’m fortunate to be staying at the W Hotel in Hoboken, N. J., for a meeting as I write this. If you haven’t recently been on this side of the Hudson River, it ain’t the New Jersey from years ago! Looking at the Manhattan skyline from my window, I realize I’ve never had an opportunity […]
Everyone encounters the need to break inertia When organizations “stand still” for very long, they become stuck. This isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, the execution of strategy is really about building structure (for example, systems, rewards and organizational design) to make sure the organization is aligned and focused. When change is required, however, […]
Dramatic culture change requires a high level of confidence, thick skin and dramatic action One of the more difficult challenges CEOs can entertain is changing their organization’s culture. Doing this over an extended period takes perseverance and is like trying to maintain an exercise program when surrounded by people with chocolate cake and spare forks. […]
A friend just closed a deal — a “carve out” from a company in the U.K. He purchased a portion of the company and turned it into a new enterprise; his new financial partner is a private equity firm. The purchase documentation contains language I found humorous but delightfully simple. (The British have a smart […]
“Open your hips before you shrug and drop faster under the bar!” shouts my CrossFit® instructor while helping me improve my squat clean technique. It’s one of those weird moves that takes many repetitions to perfect — to align brain cells so it’s memory versus concentration. It’s like changing your golf swing. Until it’s memory, […]
Optimism is a quality of emotionally intelligent leaders I loved Dr. Suess when I was a kid. (O.K. I still do!) While I don’t remember all of the red, blue and green characters from his books, I clearly remember The Grinch. In fact, I saw him a couple of weeks ago, trying to lead a […]