Growing up in Minnesota, shoveling snow was a frequent activity. But my mother’s definition of shoveling the driveway wasn’t quite the same as mine. I figured if there were two tracks for tires we were good to go. She thought that visible concrete was a beautiful thing and wanted the entire drive cleared. I say […]
Boulder, Colo., is a great place to ride a bike. It has an extremely active cycling community, from world-class on down. We’re blessed with country roads, creeks and hills. When I say hills, I mean everything from gentle 2 percent grades up to lung-busting, lunch-losing 15 percent grades that would make a blood-doping cheater with […]
We have a demon cat by the name of Ike who has some bad habits. The other day I walked past the bathroom and saw is orange butt in the air with his face and paws in the toilet taking a drink. This, by the way, while he was within 20 feet of two bowls […]
“Fair” is an innocuous sounding four-letter word, but it can cause severe problems in an organization if it means that everyone is treated the same. Imagine that you’re the king or queen of a small island nation, The United Kingdom of [Your Name Here]. You’re a benevolent leader and want the best for your people. […]
My last two columns have addressed what CEOs and other senior leaders need to know and what they need to do. But who do you need to be? What are CEO leadership characteristics? Here is a excerpted section from my book, “Never Kick A Cow Chip On A Hot Day: Real Lessons for Real CEOs […]
Maintain a plan In last week’s blog I postulated that there were three questions that drove my best CEO clients in their quest for excellence: What do I need to know, what do I need to do and who do I need to be? I addressed the first last week and will address the second […]
The questions I asked myself years ago as a CEO and the questions I see my CEO clients ask themselves now about improving usually fall into three buckets: What do I need to know, what do I need to do and whom do I need to be? While I address these 3 critical questions in […]
You need a vision to start with There’s a parable of sorts attributed to Michelangelo who, when asked how he was able to so beautifully carve the statue of David, responded that he merely cut away everything that wasn’t David. That’s a wonderful depiction of focus that we can all take with us. If we […]
I just saw one of the most brilliant, toughest son of a bitches I know get teary-eyed while giving a speech. I’ve known him for years; I have a great deal of respect for him and have learned an enormous amount from him. Now 70 years old, he told a childhood story about witnessing something […]
No Executive is Perfect There’s a relatively bright line between two types of leaders that I look for when I consider new clients: those concerned primarily with their vanity versus those concerned with developing a vision. Those who think it’s primarily about what the company can do for them and the benefits that they receive […]