The phrase “I serve at the pleasure of …” annoys me. It’s used most often in the political realm, such as, “I serve at the pleasure of the president” (most often uttered when someone is about to get fired). Any leader who asserts that “you serve at my pleasure” may be factually correct but is […]
I frequently interact with entrepreneurial types who find themselves running a growing organization and have little idea how to do so. They never worked in a larger organization, never had a mentor who was a talented leader, never went to school or training programs for management, never had a leadership coach, and never studied and […]
There’s a crazy, one-day, annual bike race in France called Paris–Roubaix, which starts in Paris and ends in … oh, you guess! It’s 160 or so miles of hell. Although relatively flat, much of it is on a narrow, muddy cobblestone path. It’s like trying to ride on marbles on ice. The announcers constantly yell […]
Perhaps your dad or mom was a successful entrepreneur. Or perhaps you’ve been a hardworking, loyal part of the machinery that helped build a company. Now, however, you’ve been promoted to CEO and are wondering: “Do I deserve this? Will people respect me? How do I change course without upsetting Dad or Mom or the […]
Some of the most rewarding work I’ve done is work with new CEOs. The gap from senior executive to Chief Executive Officer may not seem that large but every CEO I’ve worked with would tell you that it is much larger than it appears. An MBA doesn’t prepare you to be a CEO though it […]
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 […]
I don’t play well with everyone. In fact, I’m a bit particular about whom I work with. After working as an advisor and coach for many years, I’ve developed a profile of the clients who are most successful after our work together. These descriptors, you’ll note, are more psychographic than job-related — not related to […]
A friend recently sent me a great Far Side cartoon. A group of sheep is standing in a living room with cocktails, and a dog is at the doorway. One sheep says to another: “Henry! Our party’s total chaos! No one knows when to eat, where to stand, what to …. Oh, thank God! Here […]
I used to fly aerobatics and was pretty confident (though not terribly skilled!) that I’d make it back to the runway with the airplane in one piece. I did, however, always wear a parachute! Regulation required it, but I also figured it cut my risk significantly. A key trait for successful CEOs is their ability […]
A new CEO asked me which important leadership skills he needed to succeed—the building blocks of success. I suspect he thought my answer would include things like industry knowledge, technical brilliance, negotiating prowess and capital structure analysis. Those are all interesting, but they aren’t success factors I’ve observed in my many years of coaching successful […]