I had an interesting conversation about expectations with a thoughtful CEO whom I work with. I’ve had similar conversations with many. Clients often ask, “Shouldn’t I be able to expect ____?” In other words, should a leader be able to expect certain behaviors from his team members without clearly stating the expectation? The short answer […]
If you don’t watch the NBA, you may not know who Nikola Jokić is (often called “The Joker”). He plays for the Denver Nuggets and is arguably the best player in basketball as I write this. Although his game is impressive, as a fair-weather basketball fan, I find his persona even more so. He isn’t […]
If I waved a magic wand and and proclaimed, “You are now Chief Basket Weaver,” would you suddenly know how to make baskets? Of course not! If I said you’re a leader or Chief Thingamajig Officer, does that mean you now know how to manage, lead, or design “thingamajigs”? No! Yet almost weekly, I run […]
My knowledge of Buddhism could fit in a thimble, but I’ve gleaned that it contains lessons for leaders. “The Six Perfections,” which I recently discovered, are an interesting take on success in the C-suite. 1. Generosity: Imagine you’re the Buddha of the office, bestowing the gift of snacks upon your team. Generosity isn’t just about […]
When automobiles were first developed, some cities banned them. Thoroughbreds and quarter horses went on strike nationwide, looking for protective legislation. Many people nowadays will feel like a thoroughbred soon. Writers in the broadcast industry already do. I drove past a picket line at Fox Studio in L.A. last week. The thing is, complaining won’t […]
Data poisoning causes artificial intelligence (e.g., ChatGPT) to create bad assertions. Because AI learns from the open Internet (or sometimes closed systems), and the Internet is full of lots of bad information, the result is predictable. “Garbage in, garbage out” is what we used to say in the before times. “Consider the source” is also […]
I’ve previously written about the value of “optimizing” conflict in an organization rather than naively trying to minimize it. (Here is the link if you are interested.) Conflict and risk both have bad raps, but eliminating either would be a disaster! The historical bank runs (e.g., Silicon Valley Bank in 2023) and the resulting “bail […]
After many years of doing a weightlifting maneuver called a “clean,” I got one almost right. For most of this period I blamed my poor cleans on genetic issues. “It’s my mother’s fault!” But the coaches at my current gym won’t listen to my excuses and are correcting years of bad practice; 15 years of […]
When skiing bumps (moguls), you must do numerous things right. Keep your weight centered, hands forward, and face down the fall line. Find your line by looking multiple turns ahead. And so on. Get one wrong and it’s messy. Best thing to do when you’re off your line? Stop. Have a conversation with yourself and […]
The Wall Street Journal recently reported this: “Software giant Microsoft Corp., in a recent survey of more than 20,000 people, found that 87% of employees say they are productive at work, while only 12% of leaders have confidence that their workers are being productive.” I’m protective of the C-suite as those are the people I […]