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. […]
A recent NPR story highlighted DNA testing services (e.g., 23andMe and Ancestry.com) and how many people are surprised when they’re of different makeup than they thought. Some folks are disturbed when their life’s narrative doesn’t match the real story. It turns out that many of us are not as self-aware as we think. (To my […]
A recent message from a contact mentioned a wonderful retreat he’d experienced because the organization’s new leader brought in a “motivational speaker.” What a bunch of crap! You take over an organization and hire a motivational speaker because you have nothing to say?! Business should be fun, but don’t waste the opportunity to engage your […]
Years ago (and pounds ago!) I ran marathons. I was a young father and worked too much, so I ran them with less-than-desirable training miles per week, causing me to fade at the 20-mile mark. I could not finish strong. I was proud of my effort and times but could’ve done much better with more […]
Parallels between aviation and business The Boeing 737 crashes of 2018 and 2019 have me thinking of flying and its parallels to business. With the 737s that crashed, the aircraft “CEO” didn’t know the critical infrastructure of the operating system, and the result was fatal. CEOs in business who let the company get away from […]
Positive behavioral change affects everyone “For behaviors that you want to do, the goal is to make triggers salient, the behavior easy, and the reward as immediate and satisfying as possible. For behaviors that you don’t want to do, it’s the opposite. Bury the trigger (move the fridge to the garage), make the behavior hard […]