I recently heard a piece on National Public Radio celebrating the 40th anniversary of “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.” In his recap, the reporter highlighted the children’s transition from fear to curiosity in response to meeting the alien. This concept struck me. What a wonderful perspective! Perhaps not if you encounter a ravenous grizzly bear by yourself […]
A client recently said, “The one on ones our managers are doing are turning into counseling sessions! How much is too much?” Great question. As a guy who grew up with a single parent, a mother who was very much a “pull yourself up by your bootstraps!” type of gal, my natural inclinations are skewed […]
I had a good chat on Memorial Day with my son, a retired Marine. I had war on my mind as I read the news that morning with updates on the conflict in Ukraine. He’d been in a particular battle in Fallujah, Iraq, that I knew little about, and I finally asked him more details […]
“Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.” —Warren Buffett Sixty percent of CEOs surveyed by The Conference Board believe that economic conditions will worsen in the short term, and I suspect they’re correct. Warren Buffett, however, is on a buying spree. Over the short and medium term, emotions play a […]
168 is an important and immutable number. It’s one that we all share, the number of hours in a week. No one gets more, no one gets less. (Unless it’s your last week on earth or you were born on a Tuesday.) Most of you can, in great measure, control part if not most of […]
While preparing to review a CEO, the chairman of a board I worked with said, “He doesn’t lead; he just presides!” It was a brilliant description of a CEO who was loved by his people but ineffective in his role. It’s about balance. Lest I get off on the wrong foot, I passionately believe that […]
To understand why your desired customer will buy from you versus your competition and what you must do to satisfy their needs is perhaps the most important thing you can know. But many CEOs cannot clearly articulate this. And many know it but don’t choose to address it. Why? Building a winning strategy is hard. […]
I’ve coached folks who probably have an IQ that’s double mine. Some are linear thinkers who are process-oriented, and some are more entrepreneurial and rely heavily on intuition. Both can be great leaders. But process orientation and intuition can, as with most strengths, be disabling. Highly process-oriented leaders can create a bureaucratic mess by […]
We needed to remodel a bathroom and bedroom, and my son had friends from the Marines with a construction business. With his endorsement and their background as Marines, we hired them as soon as they gave us a proposal. We’re glad we did! One of them, Tom, is an avid fly-fisher as am I. (I […]
Many words can describe successful CEOs: smart, aggressive, resilient, etc. So why is “frustrated” one of a CEO’s normal states? First, it’s all those people around you! People come in many models with poorly written instruction manuals. Different things motivate them. They have different skills. And they must work together! This creates the wonderful puzzle […]