Once a company decides where it’s going and why customers will buy from it versus its competition (vision and strategy), the next big question is how to align a strong team in pursuit of those objectives. For eons, managers and HR departments have focused on creating dream teams with star players — individuals who have […]
“You’re betraying your whole life if you don’t say what you think — and you don’t say it honestly and bluntly.” —Charles Krauthammer, American political columnist Not everyone is as articulate as Krauthammer. Saying what we think can get us in a bit of bother when the thinking part is ignored before the saying part. […]
Culture, strategy and leadership need to be at the top of your to-do list It’s 7:30 a.m. on Monday. You’re the CEO, and you just arrived in your office. You run a rapidly growing organization with 500 employees. Your choices for the top priority to focus on that day are: (1) fixing a nagging production […]
I’ve been blogging for 14 years (and written a book, of course!), and I stick primarily to business strategy, leadership and organizational effectiveness. Those are the challenges I help CEOs with, so it makes sense! There’s a topic, however, that I’ve had numerous conversations with CEOs and other executives about that’s broader than business. With […]
“New Yorker cartoon: Two Zen monks in robes and shaved heads, one young, one old, sitting side by side cross-legged on the floor. The younger one is looking somewhat quizzically at the older one, who is turned toward him and saying: “Nothing happens next. This is it.”” —From “Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness […]
Have you recently spent an hour or two at a boring cocktail party, a bad movie or (gasp!) the 15th version of your kid’s Nutcracker ballet performance? If so, I bet you spent some time thinking about all the other fun places you’d rather be. Was work one of them? If you’re an executive, you’re […]
A recent column in The Wall Street Journal points out that most colleges fail to improve critical-thinking skills. That’s unfortunate. Being able to recite information isn’t really valuable — especially since we can ask Alexa or Siri anything at any time. It’s more than just being informed and caring. Connecting dots, making assumptions, analyzing data […]
There’s a difference between respect and servitude. A CEO friend and I recently had a beer, and he updated me on his kids. His daughter worked in sales for a large, well-known company and had been promoted to a “major accounts” position, in charge of relationships with two other large organizations. One of her clients […]
“A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.” —Confucius In life, we generally want to reduce friction. Car bodies, bike helmets, airplane skins and anything requiring oil are designed to minimize friction. But when you want to stop a car, light a match or shape a piece of wood, you need […]
A fascinating and critical question for leaders: Do you reward behavior or victories? Consider these situations: You have a well-established business model but are concerned that it’s too old and a startup may soon eat your lunch. You fund a new division to build out some adjacent product lines. It gets three to market; two […]