In my role as a CEO coach, I frequently engage with the CEO’s direct reports and guide them toward developing a highly functioning executive team. We meet numerous times, discuss important issues and practice the right behavior. However, the real work happens outside of our meetings. Here’s a closing memo I give to the CEOs […]
Random acts don’t equal strategy.
In my work as an advisor to senior executives, I’ve seen far too much “nice” behavior that causes problems. While intentions may appear admirable, being a “nice” CEO does not equate to effective leadership, and ultimately hurts the team, shareholders and future success of the business. Now there is a significant difference between being […]
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 […]