“I would rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned.” —Richard Feynman, Nobel physicist I never took a physics class—not in high school or college or grad school. Hell, I couldn’t spell “physics”! So it’s amusing that I’m drawing lessons from people who work in quantum mechanics, nuclear fission, or […]
The strange dance between CEOs and their governing body (in my for-profit world, typically a board of directors) is interesting. Not quite swing, not quite polka — there’s often confusion about who’s leading, causing bruised toes. Over my many years of being on boards, working for boards as a CEO, coaching CEOs and working with […]
…the frightful rule of folly and chance.” –Nietzsche Nietzsche wrote this phrase while arguing for human “will” rather than happenstance or divine intervention to carry the day. Few would argue the notion that successful business requires good fortune, and many would argue that it benefits from divine intervention. I wouldn’t quarrel with either concept. One […]
Temperament in the corner office is something that deserves consideration when thinking about effective leadership. Unfortunately, volatility is sometimes correlated with success, but correlation is not causation. One of my best clients asked my thoughts on Elon Musk. “Brilliant carnival barker,” was my response. His was more articulate, but we were on the same page. […]
“How can we miss you when you won’t go away?” Papa John’s leadership and shareholders might be saying. If you’ve been following the pizza leadership drama in the news, you’ll note that a bad case of “founder’s syndrome” settled in Papa John’s ovens recently. It became a struggle of overinflated ego versus what’s right for […]
“Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self interest.” —Napoleon Bonaparte I think of myself as an optimist, but there is a good deal of truth in Bonaparte’s assertion. In fact, if you were starting a business, it would be wise to think about how you might leverage that assertion to profitably monetize […]
Check out this video (no, I’m not sending you to a North Korean identify theft site). In case the link above breaks, let me describe this. A child hangs desperately onto a rope in moving water, screaming for dear life! It looks as if he’ll drown if he lets go. Then a larger child walks […]
Leadership requires you to see things in different ways At lunch the other day, my very well-read friend described why he still buys leadership books in bookstores. This was on the heels of a conversation about web privacy and how Amazon and many other web sellers zero in on what you buy and peruse to […]
One of the greatest issues in self-improvement is (here comes a blinding flash of the obvious!) that people want to be different but don’t want to change. It’s one of the biggest barriers in my coaching work. Let me rephrase that: It’s one of the biggest issues for those people I won’t coach. I’m sure […]
You’re a wide receiver for the 2016 Denver Broncos. It’s third and long. Peyton Manning joins the huddle and says, “I love you guys; you’re the best! Let’s go get ‘em! Break!” How successful would that play be? No one knows what the hell to do. I worked for a CEO once who said the […]