When I work with executive teams on increasing their effectiveness, one of exercises we do is to identify the “rules of engagement” so that there is clarity about how people interact with each other. Some examples of rules are: > Be prepared for all meetings > All meetings must have an agenda and clear objectives […]
Because I typically travel to work with the executives I coach, I found myself with extra time during COVID. I work with midmarket CEOs and their teams, but for some reason I was getting calls from small business owners. It wasn’t right to turn them away, so I helped some for free or a very […]
I’ve been talking with numerous CEOs about their expected future work environment, and they developed some clarity that I wanted to share, though they have chosen slightly different paths. Most of those I speak with are attempting a hybrid model for their workplace. Some believe this will be permanent, some believe it’s temporary — that […]
Years ago, I served on a public company board of directors with a prominent investor. Like most successful people I’ve known, a few maxims drove his success. The one I heard repeatedly from him was: “Rule number one in business is never run out of cash! Rule number two is never violate rule number one!” […]
“Expenditure of physical or mental effort especially when difficult or compulsory” — “Labor” definition, Merriam-Webster I’m not a fan of the term “labor” to describe some of the workers in the economy. It comes from the Latin word labor which means to toil or trouble. I never viewed the people that worked in the organizations […]
I recently created a vlog on “When to Change Strategy” and wanted to share some interesting observations (at least to me!) of changing business because of the pandemic. There’s little joy in Mudville from the pandemic, but there are always lessons! The grocery industry has had to pivot (heavens I’m tired of that word!) dramatically […]
I’m a big fan of Ken Burns documentaries. Years ago, I took time off at Christmas and watched the Civil War series with one of my kids. I’ve since seen Burns’ films on national parks and country music. Brilliant! I’d known of Burns’ 1994 baseball series but only recently watched it; it was as good […]
I used to fly aerobatics and was pretty confident (though not terribly skilled!) that I’d make it back to the runway with the airplane in one piece. I did, however, always wear a parachute! Regulation required it, but I also figured it cut my risk significantly. A key trait for successful CEOs is their ability […]
“No matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time. You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant!” —Warren Buffett I’m a fan of fast. I talk fast, eat fast and drive fast (says my wife). I like to complete undesirable projects quickly. Heck, we all have […]
I recently warned that your team may be fragmenting in the work-from-home environment. Since then, I’ve spoken with multiple CEOs who are concerned about this. Many of them have employees who’d rather work from home with sporadic office visits, and most of these CEOs will try to accommodate them. Given this, there are three concepts […]