I was having a beer with my son and his father-in-law, Ken, and talking about airplanes. Ken was discussing the massive buildup of equipment that Americans had to undertake as one of the critical issues to win World War II. He was a kid then and later served in the military so saw this firsthand. […]
A boy asked an older rich man how he made his money. The old guy fingered his sweater and said, “Well, son, it was 1934 and in the depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last dime. “I invested that dime in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple […]
“Fair” is an innocuous sounding four-letter word, but it can cause severe problems in an organization if it means that everyone is treated the same. Imagine that you’re the king or queen of a small island nation, The United Kingdom of [Your Name Here]. You’re a benevolent leader and want the best for your people. […]
My last two columns have addressed what CEOs and other senior leaders need to know and what they need to do. But who do you need to be? What are CEO leadership characteristics? Here is a excerpted section from my book, “Never Kick A Cow Chip On A Hot Day: Real Lessons for Real CEOs […]
Maintain a plan In last week’s blog I postulated that there were three questions that drove my best CEO clients in their quest for excellence: What do I need to know, what do I need to do and who do I need to be? I addressed the first last week and will address the second […]
The questions I asked myself years ago as a CEO and the questions I see my CEO clients ask themselves now about improving usually fall into three buckets: What do I need to know, what do I need to do and whom do I need to be? While I address these 3 critical questions in […]
You need a vision to start with There’s a parable of sorts attributed to Michelangelo who, when asked how he was able to so beautifully carve the statue of David, responded that he merely cut away everything that wasn’t David. That’s a wonderful depiction of focus that we can all take with us. If we […]
I just saw one of the most brilliant, toughest son of a bitches I know get teary-eyed while giving a speech. I’ve known him for years; I have a great deal of respect for him and have learned an enormous amount from him. Now 70 years old, he told a childhood story about witnessing something […]
No Executive is Perfect There’s a relatively bright line between two types of leaders that I look for when I consider new clients: those concerned primarily with their vanity versus those concerned with developing a vision. Those who think it’s primarily about what the company can do for them and the benefits that they receive […]
My friend Dave and I have something in common: We’ll both die at least twice. Each of us had medical occurrences that caused breath and blood to stop flowing — his very recently, mine when I was a young man. I’d like to keep it to two; the first occurrence wasn’t so fun. Unlike physical […]