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Challenge is its Own Reward
Try this: challenge yourself to do 100 of anything that pushes you. Your challenge could be: 100 burpees 100 sales calls 100 acknowledgments of your team in 21 days …anything that pushes you a bit I write 100s of blog posts every year and have done so for years. My...
Make the Most of Your Opportunity to Lead
This past week, Lori Lightfoot lost her bid for re-election as Mayor of Chicago. This is a remarkable reversal for someone who won in a landslide four years ago. Last time around, she took all 50 wards. The people of Chicago gave her the opportunity to lead and she...
Use What You Have
Resources (money, time, etc.) may be in short supply, but leaders and teams have an unending supply of creativity. Take a look at this little souvenir we got in Cozumel. It’s made from one coconut, which are everywhere across the Caribbean. Hummingbird I have seen...
Success Systems
Do you want to really thrive and the absolutely best leader you can be? Stack the odds in your favor with layers of supportive success systems. The human body has multiple layers of systems in place to keep the body in peak condition. White blood cells protect against...
Make Competition Fuel for Your Success
Years ago I was running with my wife in a 10km race. This is notable because she hated (and continues to hate) running. But she wanted to push herself and try something new. To keep her focused and motivated, I asked her to find someone on the course she thought she...
Be Visible to Drive Engagement and Marketing
After a move to a new neighborhood, we tried out a new dentist. But this new dentist only spoke to me from behind. (One of my big pet peeves for dentists.) She did not take the time to come around and talk to me face to face. I had no clue who she was as a person. The...
Setbacks Set the Stage for Growth
Two years ago, after the Chiefs and Mahomes lost to the Buccaneers and Tom Brady in that season’s Superbowl, I posted my interest in how Mahomes would respond to that loss. Today I am curious about how Jalen Hurts will respond to the Eagles loss to the Chiefs...
Improve Your Key Teams
The Wall Street Journal reported that new union tactics allowed by the NLRB might result in a union at a Nissan plant In Tennessee with only 2% of the workforce voting. Unions do this by focusing very narrowly on specific departments and specialties versus campaigns...
Focus on Your Game
Dutch Blitz is a popular card game that involves matching cards in your hand to what is available on the table. The player who matches the most cards, wins. It moves fast and requires a player to KEEP THEIR HEAD in the middle of a lot of CHAOS. (Caution: While fun, it...
Create Space to Innovate with your Team
Leaders need to create the space for their teams to make meaningful improvements in the business. Two factors need to be addressed to create that space: Showing high openness to ideas Providing effective structure As the chart below indicates, showing openness without...
Cancel the Noise
I love my noise-cancelling headphones. They are great at screening out miscellaneous noises and distracting conversations. They make air travel much more enjoyable because they help me to focus, relax, and be more productive. Helping teams tune out the noise is an...
Plant Seeds of Positivity
My daughter likes to make little origami cranes for people and leave them where they can find them later. It is her way of sharing her positivity and kindness. Her grandmother saves all of them and over the years they nearly fill a drawer. People like to receive these...
Resolve to Keep your Life and Work Tidy this New Year
Japan has the tradition of a deep “spring cleaning” that occurs at the beginning of the New Year. During that time, they clean everything in the house. Every nook and cranny of a typical house is scrubbed, dusted, and refreshed. (Marie Kondo is famous in the US, but...
Invest in In-Person Time
While I have come to love the efficiency of email and remote meetings (Zoom and Teams), there really are some big benefits to being in-person and to which leaders should pay attention. These include: Quick and efficient relationship building. You can give and get a...
3 Success Habit Examples
From the many CEOs I am honored to interact with, I get to see many examples of success habits.Here are three such habits I was reminded of this week:Move fast. One CEO I met, shared that they started their winery in the middle of the pandemic, built up production,...
TYOM: Southwest Airlines
As you may have heard, Southwest Airlines received a lot of criticism for an operational meltdown of epic proportions over the holidays. While it is easy to simply be critical of the failures of others, what lessons might leaders learn from Southwest’s experience? A...
Beyond Comfort Zones: Circle of Competence
Leaders will often hear that they should get out of their comfort zone. Good advice.But if you really want to get better results this year, let's take it a step further.Don’t stay comfortable within your current Circle of Competence.In the world of investing, Charlie...
Top Leaders have the Courage to Change
Our pastor recently recommended people read the Serenity Prayer again. While I am NOT trying to make any theological points here, I thought there is some wisdom that can apply to leaders and business too. If you are not familiar with it, the Serenity Prayer asks for...
Avoid These Common Mistakes
A big part of success is avoiding simple mistakes. For leaders these include, but are not limited, to: Do not hire or partner with those who are not competent nor aligned with you. Do not do anything unethical. Do not waste time (or allow others on the team to waste...
Train your Team to Evaluate Downsides AND Upsides
The big news this week was about a breakthrough in harnessing energy from fusion. While I understand it is early research, I would still like to understand the potential downsides. Every upside has some cost. Every plan involves some difficulty to execute. Fission...
Cupcake Clarity
A bakery in my neighborhood puts a sign on the busy street near their location containing this information: I love their little sign. It illustrates the power of simplicity in communication and decision making.Leaders should always be seeking to improve clarity...
Get the Right People in the Right Roles
I love the movie Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. In it, two con men (played by Steve Martin and Michael Caine) make money by pretending to be what they are not. The concept of made for a funny movie. But in real life and the world of business?? …Pretending does not work very...
Ask for the GOOD Ideas
Do you believe in your ability to come up with great ideas for your business? I hope and imagine you do. But a leader’s creativity ought to be supplemented with the creativity of others. While leaders can come up with lots of ideas. They are throttling their business...
Leaders Keep Growing
Everybody loves a good success story; especially if the person started from humble beginnings. A president at Adidas started working in shipping and receiving. A client who is now the owner of a high-end dental practice started her career as an assistant. Another...
Empowerment: Give Your Team Space to Work
“It is like they put a solar panel under a tree.” That was the phrase a CEO used to describe a project that was not living up to its full potential. I think that same phrase can be used to describe what happens when leaders jump in and take too much control. Leaders...
Evaluate Improvements for IMPACT and ROI
Why is your team doing what it is doing? It’s always a good idea to take a step back and evaluate the ROI of activities to improve the business. This is true for suggestions from the team as well as actions enshrined in a strategy document. Why? Three reasons: It...
Create more Wows for a Better Business
When I took my car to have the tires rotated, I removed and held on to my chrome-colored valve covers. I was worried the tire shop would lose them and replace them with the standard black ones. But, to my surprise, they replaced them with valve covers to match the...
Handling Unscheduled Team Member Departures
It is tough enough when a team member’s departure is expected, whether that’s because they were not a fit for the organization or due to a planned departure for new opportunities.But it can feel very personal when it comes as a surprise. Leaders all want to say “it is...
Leaders Define what they Mean to Improve Team Performance
Leaders need to be clear about what they mean if they want to help the team to improve. This includes being specific about the definitions of words. Many words will get tossed around without much thought as to what they actually mean. And a thing cannot be improved if...
Improve Your Business Through Positive People Interactions
While French Polynesia (comprised of stunning islands like Bora Bora, Moorea, and Raiatea) is a beautiful vacation destination, it is the people that make a place special. Beautiful vistas are great, but it is the experiences that we have with the people that really...
Use the Power of SCORES to Align Teams
There are many powerful tools for cultural alignment (purpose, vision, values, mission, etc.), but leaders should never underestimate the power of a WINNING NUMBER to align and energize the team. The crazy scene after the incredible win of the University of Tennessee...
Great Leaders Give the Team Space to Work
“It is like they put a solar panel under a tree.” That was the phrase a CEO used to describe a project that was not living up to its full potential. I think that same phrase can be used to describe what happens when leaders jump in and take too much control. Leaders...
Prepare to Grow Again
It is over-seeding season for the golf course behind our house. The crews are busy with the many horticultural tasks required to get the course in good condition for the winter season. The seeding season is a reminder that it is important to take time to refresh if...
Top Leaders Make it Easier to Win
The downside of streaming video channels is that is some ways they are making it harder for people to see shows in which they might be interested. It seems like every new show requires another subscription. Even some of my Alabama football games were streamed and...
Successful Leaders are Ultra Clear on Roles and Fit
A CEO shared his frustration regarding his organization’s results with this observation: “My leaders need to wear several hats. But the trouble is that they only end up wearing the hats that they like.” There are two things that need to be addressed here: roles and...
Preparing the Team to Change Course
NASA’s recently executed DART experiment was designed to try and shift the course of asteroids that might pose a collision risk to Earth. The idea is to use a small space vehicle flying at very high speed to move a large rock enough to take it off a potentially...
Great Teams Work WITH Leaders and Not Just FOR Them
A colleague asked if I felt I would ever work for a company again. I told him that I have very little interest in working “for” anybody, but I have always enjoyed working “with” others.I don’t think I am alone.When a person feels like they are working FOR someone...
Effective Leaders Hustle More and Hamster Less
Effective leaders love getting lots of things done, and they hate going in circles. So it is good to recognize what kind of “busy” you are. Are you spinning the proverbial hamster wheel or are you hustling and making progress on the things you care about?When leaders...
Don’t Try and Do Everything
If a leader is “doing it all”, then it is likely not being done well. You may have heard of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). In leaders I often see FOLG (Fear of Letting Go). They try and hold on to too much. It’s a big mistake that will hamper the growth of an...
Make Meaningful Connections
“Ready to connect…. ready to connect… ready to connect…” So went the voice prompt from the Wi-Fi home surveillance cameras that Kim was adjusting before a trip. That same message also could serve as a good reminder to leaders: your team is ready (and eager!) to...
Set your Team Up to Win Big
A senior leader of a Fortune 500 company introduced me to the concept of “exit velocity.” In his organization, a team is creating exit velocity when their business unit is performing so well compared to other business units in the organization that it no longer...
Have Standards that Improve Team Results
My nephew was telling me about his manufacturing job and shared the fact that he needs to keep his process within a half millimeter tolerance. I said that sounds like a pretty tight specification for what he was doing. He responded with “The actual spec is...
Take Advantage of your Opportunities
When the team makes the most of a bad situation, it should be considered a real success. Likewise, when a team doesn’t make the best of a good situation, it should be considered a failure. The pandemic was a windfall for many companies. But for some, the ability to...
Keep Your Team Positively Progressing
It’s easy for a team to focus on the negative and all the things that still need to be improved. This can lead to burnout and feeling overwhelmed. Just like there is wisdom in avoiding the trap of deferred happiness (i.e. not being happy until you get that...
Be Positive and Practical
Some of you might remember a radio show called Car Talk with Ray and Tom Magliozzi (aka “Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers”). They dispensed humor and practical car advice for decades on public radio. They were a fun part of my life and helped pass the time on many...
Be the Kind of Leader in Whom People Can Believe
A commercial real estate leader and expert in site selection for companies shared with me the concept of “burning through the market.” Evidently some company jobs are so bad (typically call center jobs) that these companies “burn through” the available market for...
Get in the Millionaire-making Business
John Chambers, the former CEO of Cisco Systems, is very proud of the fact that the company created over 10,000 millionaires over the course of his tenure.Lots of people want to be millionaires. I was impressed that Mr. Chambers was excited about his active role in...
Lead Openness to New Ideas
At a CEO round table I facilitate, I asked each leader to rate their organizations on how well they are leveraging recruitment (a critical topic these days) to drive their most important numbers. Most rated themselves fairly high. A few (the minority) were more...
Work with Others and Stay Consistent
My wife surprised me with the suggestion that we should start running in the mornings. I was surprised because she hates running. Plus it was April Fool’s Day. Turns out she wasn’t kidding. So for 21 days we are committed to run a mile each morning. The distance is...
Deliver the News
Leaders are continuously called upon to be great communicators. They must convey decisions, correct behavior, get people back on the same page…the list is endless. There are two dimensions to effective communication: 1) the ability to say what needs to be said and 2)...
Good Old-Fashioned Trust
The current US administration has recently softened its anti-domestic oil stance with the rise in gas prices. But US oil producers have indicated it could take a while to produce enough to make an impact. Some of the reasons for this are practical (ex. it takes time...
Prioritize Results over Process
Phoenix made the national news recently with story about a bunch of baptisms that were declared null and void by the Catholic Church because of the misuse of a pronoun. I will leave the religious analysis to others, but as a regular joe it looks like an example of...
Detach with Love
When we attended a “Nar-Anon” meeting, I expected that we would be getting advice on how to help fix an addict in our life. What we got was advice on how to adapt our own thinking and behavior. (Believe it or not, there is a 12 Step program for those who have loved...
Cut for Time
Many of the streaming services have some incredibly entertaining series. (We loved Acapulco, Ted Lasso, and Ozarks in particular.) Movies from streaming services, on the other hand, seem to be about 20-30 minutes too long. In many cases, the movie would be better with...
Stagflation
Stagflation is the worst of both worlds. With stagflation you get an economy with rising costs, but with little or no growth. A kind of stagflation can occur in organizations too. This can often be seen in government where bureaucracies will bloat, providing the same...
A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action
I think most leaders would agree with my colleague Lee Benson’s observation that having a plan is only 10% of the journey. The rest is the execution. If that’s true, then what are the implications? Let me offer some for your consideration: Make all your next steps...
Good Advice
If we took 20% of the advice that we think would be great for others and applied it to ourselves, we would be at least 100% more effective. Maybe even more. Consider some of the things you have advised others to do (or even in your head thought they should do). For...
Corner man
The corner man (in fact, usually a team of people) supports a fighter (boxer, mixed martial artist, etc.) during a fight. They look out for the fighter, provide coaching tips in between rounds, and offer encouragement. It is a hugely important role. While the winner...
The Power of Voicing Observation
People talk about voicing opinions, but don’t forget the power of voicing observations. Focusing attention on what is really going on is a big part of leadership. If a meeting seems to be going down a rat hole, a leader needs to say so. If the team seems to be talking...
Mentors and Guides Along the Way
Sometimes lost in the shadow of Halloween is All Saints Day. It is meant to be a day of remembrance for those special individuals who made significant contribution or sacrifice for their faith. But there are saints outside of church too. There are special people...
Rule Number 1 for People Investments
Smart people think carefully about where to invest for the BEST returns. This is true for retirement investments and philanthropic investments. It is also true for people investments. The most important rule is to invest in your best. But who are the best? These are...
Own the Process
I recently asked my colleague and expert on process management, Joe Bockerstette, to come talk to a group of manufacturing CEOs. My chief takeaway was this: your organization is perfectly designed to get the results it is producing today. Whether good or bad, the...
Take your “Real Self” to Work Day
At the end of a team building event, the leader of the team got emotional. It was a moving, raw moment. Several days later when we were debriefing and planning next steps, the leader asked me “was that ok?” They were worried that they might have done something wrong....
Supply chain is SEXY (!!)
Supply chain is the sexy new topic. It wasn’t always that way. Until recently, squeezing out costs through freight and logistics only got the attention of the professional supply chain geeks. Now it is on everyone’s mind and has become a hot area for innovation....
Staying Energized over Time
For many, the pandemic exacerbated a pre-existing condition: feeling drained because of demanding jobs. As you (hopefully) take a break today because of Labor Day, consider these suggestions from a group of actual CEOs who recently made a list of what they do to keep...
Strive for Quality Actions
One thing the Afghan withdrawal has highlighted is that the QUALITY of action matters. Most Americans agree that it needed to happen, but many are rightly critical of HOW it was done. A CEO told me he has “tried everything” to improve sales, but his sales were still...
Find your Opportunities – Fast.
A day after I spoke to an association group last week, one of the CEOs wrote me that she had already taken some of the nuggets from the meeting and used them to prompt a discussion with her leadership team. She shared “We had a great discussion and talked about how...
The Hierarchy of Help
When I lead CEO groups or coach executive teams, I usually take a minute to explain the Hierarchy of Help. People can help each other in many ways, but some ways are more helpful than others. Below are the 7 types of help. The ones at the top of the list are high...
Excellence. Not Perfection
Olympic gymnastics is hyper-focused on whether an athlete “sticks” the landing. One little wiggle can mean the difference between gold, silver, or even not medaling at all. The judges harp on that last little bit, because all the athletes at the Olympics are great....
Remembering the Benefits of Being In Person
Ah yes, I remember it well. The old musical Gigi features a song about an old couple remembering how they met. The husband’s memory is somewhat at odds with that of his wife (of course!), and yet, he insists that he “remembers it well.” (If you have a moment,...
Show some Dignity
A CEO I know shared that he keeps in touch with all the people he has had to let go for at least one year after they leave. He asks that all his managers do the same. Why? Because he wants to treat people with dignity. His thinking is that just because a person didn’t...
Start Right with the Right Thinking
It drives me crazy to have to endure BO in the gym. It is so unnecessary. One of my old coaches said that he expected us leave practice a sweaty mess, but insisted we show up clean. It’s the same thing when we show up for work. But I am not talking physical hygiene, I...
Give your Team Space to Grow
We have all seen weeds pop up through the cracks in driveways. They show us that there is a tremendous force for growth that persists despite all obstacles. Even in companies where culture or systems or leadership are not optimized: Good ideas will still pop upPeople...
Success Blind Spots
We have all seen that dangerous driver weaving through highway traffic. They barely make it between cars. They tailgate. They cross three lanes of traffic to make their exit. People like this may think they are good drivers. They aren’t. The fact is other drivers are...
Be Inspired to Inspire
Look at the social media posts that get the most “likes.” Popular posts are often about someone achieving a milestone like getting a degree while working and raising kids, doing something selfless for others, or overcoming an obstacle with grace and determination....
The 4 Values of Good Ideas
When evaluating if an idea is good or not, don’t just limit your evaluation to today’s dollars. Great leaders need to consider all four types of value. These include: Current dollars (profits or revenues we can access immediately)Future dollars (profits or revenues...
Positive Peer Pressure
People talk about the negative effects of peer pressure, but positive peer pressure is an essential component of becoming the best leader you can be. Positive peer pressure is that pressure we feel to step up our game. We might feel it in the gym when we are on a...
Give your Organization a Whopping Dose of Vitamin I
Give your organization an infusion of innovation, or what I can coming to call “Vitamin I.” The body needs key nutrients to stay healthy and so does your organization. Innovation is key to present and future vitality. Innovation will: Drive engagement Create interest...
How and Why to Use an Innovation 9 Box
The big risk for any business today is thinking small and moving slow. So how to make sure your team is thinking big enough and moving fast enough? Try using what I call the Innovation 9 Box. The Innovation 9 Box is similar to the popular “9 Box” used in assessing...
Show your Passion. Manage your Emotions.
Inspiring, effective leaders will HAVE passion and EXPRESS passion. Passion is having boundless enthusiasm for something. Expressing that passion shows people what you care about. Leaders can be passionate about building teams, their industry, their products, winning,...
Getting Perspective
A movie featuring a slugfest between a radioactive lizard and a giant ape recently had a surprisingly large box office weekend. Does that mean in-person cinemas now have a bright future and that streaming is not as critical as was thought?The supply of computer chips...
Guard against your Triggers
People with allergies can have severe reactions to small amounts of an allergen. My dog immediately heads for the closet when she hears a boom (whether from a neighbor’s trash can being moved or from fireworks). Corporations tie themselves in knots trying to...
Use Validation to Succeed
Sometimes leaders just need validation that they are on the right track. They don’t always need more advice or to be told what to do. They just need to trust themselves enough to move. I had a tooth flare up on a Friday and made an appointment with my dentist for her...
Consistent investment
Just like the fact that yo-yo dieters are unlikely to make the progress they want, organizations that are inconsistent about the investments they make in people are unlikely to achieve the success that they want. Companies cannot simply invest in people when times are...
The Discipline of Speed
It’s not enough to have a great idea. Great ideas only matter if you can move fast enough to make them matter. As of this writing, the US has vaccinated 34 out of 100 residents. The UK has vaccinated 40 out of 100. By contrast the EU has only vaccinated 12 out of 100...
Preparing your Team for Growth
The article below was written with the pandemic in mind, but since the recommendations still seem relevant, I thought I would repost this... The next chapter of the global economy is unfolding. Many boats will be rising on the new tide, but not all organizations will...
Don’t Let Ideas get Diluted
⭐Is your team drifting back to what it knows? There is great risk in ideas getting dumbed down and diluted as time passes and the desire to stay in comfort zones takes hold. 👉Many US and European companies prepared for near-shoring after disruptions to global supply...
How Far are you Willing to Go?
A team’s level of interaction can be put into one of three basic types: congenial, collaborative, or innovative. Congenial teams work together nicely. There are no overt animosities or frictions. People are polite and civil. These teams get along. Collaborative teams...
Get Judgement-free Feedback
They say that feedback is the breakfast of champions. I think breakfast is too little. Leaders should try and get as many helpings as they can. Feedback can keep leaders from making simple mistakes because of lack of information. This avoids risk from unintended...
Cultivate Game Changer and Growth Mindsets
There are two mindsets necessary to be a great executive team or a great leader. The first trait is the mindset to be a game changer. Game changers are dedicated to the idea of meaningful impact. They are bold and do not think small. The second mindset is the growth...
Focus on Discipline
“It’s the discipline that matters, not the desire.” This reminder came from a very successful leader that I have the privilege to work with. His point is that wanting good things is not usually the problem. Most leaders and their teams are clear about what they want....
Make Simple Changes to Improve
After we moved into our new house, the air return vent in the hallway got progressively louder and louder. The air conditioner seemed to be working overtime and it was starting to sound like a wind tunnel. For weeks, my wife and I were worried it meant a huge repair...
Don’t Dismiss the People Part
Do you need to be a “touchy feely” leader to be successful with people? NO. But assuming that people are robotic or simply motivated by money will undermine “unfeeling” business results like profits, growth, and competitiveness. …and that will make any leader feel...
Mahomes v. Mahomes
In Superbowl LV, there was a lot of excitement about seeing Tom Brady (“the Greatest of All Time”) versus Patrick Mahomes (“the Greatest Right Now”). Now, I am interested in seeing Mahomes versus Mahomes. Let’s be honest, most of us probably can identify with the...
Connect with your Curious Family
A recent “reunion” of some old work colleagues (yes, socially distanced and outside….) reminded me how like a family our colleagues at work can be. A curious family to say the least, but (at it’s best) a family nonetheless. At their best, our families support us,...
Get Organized to Win, not just Survive
Leaders have spent a lot of time fixing serious issues since last year. They have fixed supply chains. They have created methods to keep their employees safe. They have adjusted to impacts on sales and revenue. Organizations are pretty good at rallying around a threat...
Go faster with STRUCTURE + EMPOWERMENT
While governments have been criticized for the slow pace of vaccinations (with some even having to trash precious doses), Israel’s approach is practical and offers a good reminder to business leaders. Israel’s central health system has a priority system and...
Be 30% More Productive by Being More Positive
Be 30% more productive by being more positive. This reminder came from former NHL hockey star and current leadership expert Ryan Walter who recently addressed a CEO group I run. He referenced research that shows that employees who are happy (versus being negative,...
Maintain Focus
Over the past two weeks I have learned a lot of things, including: Several start-ups have formed to commercialize private networks of satellites that are cheap to make and deploy. Some of the satellites are as small as a grilled cheese sandwich. A new streaming...
People are Messy…and yet
People do not perfectly fit into grand plans or simple categories. While roads are designed with the idea of cars moving efficiently like water through pipes, human nature (like being self-centered, angered at getting cut off, or being impatient) still results in road...