Don’t go beyond the guardrails, but be real! In a recent session with a CEO and his executive team, we discussed personality preferences as they relate to leadership. One member is particularly stoic, yet the CEO is intense and emotional. This question came up: “Is it OK to show emotions?” I’ve heard this query before […]
CEO Leadership Traits You might ask, “Where’s he going with this one?” Sermons in the lunchroom? Support of capitalism? Neither, but I might soon take a shot at the capitalism piece given some current political rhetoric. I consider myself a data-driven, evidence-based guy. “What evidence do you have of that?” is a common question for […]
Wander With Wonder MBWA. You’ve probably heard of it: management by wandering (or walking) around. Peters and Waterman made the phrase famous in their 1982 book “In Search of Excellence.” At the time, I was a store manager at Kinko’s (no longer around after FedEx bought the company) and went on to be responsible for […]
Effective Leaders Know How Is As Important As What The “what” of business is critical. Where you’re going (vision) and the path you’ll take to get there (strategy) to profitably address a market. They’re necessary, but not sufficient. As Peter Drucker said, “Many brilliant people believe that ideas move mountains. But bulldozers move mountains; ideas […]
What is Your Relationship With Your Work? An older woman in our neighborhood has significant dementia. I first met her when I found her in my garage trying to pry the logo off my car. At that point, she could still talk, but it was far from coherent. She asked for water, and I got […]
Running a company (with the help of many others!) requires thinking about numerous things — often simultaneously, it seems. Your top competitor just launched a great product, your VP of HR has some very disturbing numbers about turnover, and your bank is worried that you’re close to breaking a covenant. And then there’s that upcoming […]
The Primary Job of a CEO: How Do You Best Serve Shareholders? Milton Friedman said a company’s sole obligation was to serve shareholders. A group of CEOs of the largest organizations in America recently took issue with that and said companies must consider all stakeholders. Purpose and profit must both be served. I’m a fan […]
Strategy is about ideas, not brute force “One man on a wall was worth 10 beneath it.” —Game of Thrones Taking the high ground for military advantage is a well-worn axiom. Building moats, putting men on walls, using the element of surprise, concentrating forces, and employing many other phrases of war are often used in […]
Being an effective CEO is not all about work! I don’t often do “sick” days, but today is one. I struggled through facilitating a six-hour client meeting yesterday, and the adrenaline kept me going (that and six cups of coffee). But I only had a few nonessential meetings today so was able to move them. […]