I mentioned in a recent video (“Why Do CEOs Fail”) that I had worked with several first time CEOs in the last year. Most of them had come through the ranks and learned the critical elements of business (or at least some of them!) and were looking for refinement. A few, however, had very little […]
I have a growing sense of alarm that the workplace solutions being established in many companies, perhaps yours, lack complete thoughts around the unintended consequences. (See Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2, Exhibit 3, Exhibit 4 and Exhibit 5 for starters.) My greatest concern for burdened CEOs — who’ve had to improvise a lot over the past […]
I’ve observed a major shift in conversations I have with CEOs. We went from “how to survive the pandemic” in 2020 to “designing the hybrid workspace” (or not, depending on perspective) in early 2021 to “attracting and retaining talent” (at all levels!), which is becoming the biggest challenge for many. There’s no fine line between […]
Because I typically travel to work with the executives I coach, I found myself with extra time during COVID. I work with midmarket CEOs and their teams, but for some reason I was getting calls from small business owners. It wasn’t right to turn them away, so I helped some for free or a very […]
Years ago, I served on a public company board of directors with a prominent investor. Like most successful people I’ve known, a few maxims drove his success. The one I heard repeatedly from him was: “Rule number one in business is never run out of cash! Rule number two is never violate rule number one!” […]
I live in Boulder, Colorado. For a small town (about 100,000 people), Boulder is famous for many things. JonBenét Ramsey died here. The politics are very left of center. We have more marijuana dispensaries than Starbucks. It’s not unusual to see a $10,000 bike on top of a $300 car. The University of Colorado is […]
“No matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time. You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant!” —Warren Buffett I’m a fan of fast. I talk fast, eat fast and drive fast (says my wife). I like to complete undesirable projects quickly. Heck, we all have […]
Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “Damn, I wish I had his natural ability!” Not so fast, buckaroo! Peyton Manning couldn’t throw a perfect spiral when he came out of the womb, and Albert Einstein couldn’t do math. Pat Conroy couldn’t write, and Charles Lindbergh couldn’t land an airplane! (OK, Nat King Cole might’ve been […]
Families are mostly wonderful but somewhat disturbing. They’re a place of great joy and great pain. Sometimes supportive and nurturing, sometimes competitive, petty and a psychological shitstorm. Work environments have the same attributes. Whichever god created the concept of business one day woke in a foul mood and said, “Hey, I know! Let’s combine them […]
Has your culture changed because of coronavirus? Has the insidious disease crept into your organization like a stealthy criminal? Not overtly, but like a termite eating at your foundation. It’s not the disease, of course, that might be gnawing on your culture, but rather the changes it caused. Asynchronous communication, delayed feedback, stilted social bonding, […]