I’m usually not interested in preseason football. It’s like watching all-star wresting — lots of meaningless activity. However, I viewed the first quarter of a few games to prime the pump for the coming season. One disheartening thing I saw was a talented rookie wide receiver blow his knee out, most likely ending his season […]
On a recent return flight to Denver, we encountered a typical summer afternoon of building cumulous clouds. The seat belt sign came on early. Our pilot must’ve asked for slight deviations from air traffic control, because he was skirting around the larger cauliflower-shaped clouds — the ones that create the most turbulence. I used to […]
“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 […]
I am fortunate to live in an area that has lots of raptors—hawks and eagles. As I drove home recently, I witnessed some skillful aerial combat—a small bird, sparrow-sized, giving a large hawk the fight of his life. The smaller bird was tenacious, attacking the hawk from above and behind, probably pushing it away from […]
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 […]
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 […]
I got hooked on bike racing many years ago when I watched American Greg LeMond beat Frenchman Laurent Fignon on the last stage of the Tour de France by a mere eight seconds after two weeks and 2,041 miles of racing. Later, I was a big Lance Armstrong fan. There has always been a king […]
“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 […]
The following is an excerpt from my book, “Never Kick a Cow Chip On A Hot Day” (2016) Morgan James Publishing. Most executives squander too much of their most valuable resource, their time.Here is how to get a good return on that asset. Getting a Return On Your Time The $59 time-management seminar I went […]