Office Politics Still Exist In A Virtual World
Business Transformation: From Collapse To Clarity
AI: Empowering A Better Way To Do Business
Sales Enablement In A Socially Distanced World: What Now
Merge And Destroy?
Say No To “Just Do It”
Ideas Are Easy, Commitment Is Not: How To Lead Change With Buy-In
Why Say No: Do You Control Your Calendar, Or Does Your Calendar Control You?
The CRO And The Evolution Of The Traditional Sales Model
Are Your “A” Players Getting Back In The Game?
4 Ways To Decrease Your Blind Spots As A Leader
How To Make Progress Against Your Goals
4 Questions to Consider When Choosing a Mentor (HBR Ascend)
Having a mentor can really help you grow and step up to the next level in your career, but only if you find a good one. When you are searching for one, how can you increase your odds of selecting an effective mentor? Read the full article via HBR Ascend.
How to Stop Babysitting Your Team (HBR Ascend)
As a new manager, you’re likely to want to “oversee” tasks that your direct reports are doing. It’s a natural urge to want control over the performance and output of your team. However, the compulsion to micromanage can actually hurt more than help your team. It can break down autonomy in the team, make your […]
Never Waste a Failure
“Never Waste a Failure” — Nick Saban Although heartbreaking for Georgia, Alabama’s win in last week’s football championship game was remarkable in many ways, not the least was Nick Saban’s decision to play his untested freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the second half. Lots of lessons there! But what caught my attention was Saban’s […]
Two Points of Contact
I had my first-of-the-season shakedown cruise on the boat over the weekend. A lot happens on a shakedown, but nothing more important than remembering to always have two points of contact between me and the boat.This can be a foot and a hand, foot and a knee, and so on, but only one point is […]
We are Corporate Athletes
As Jim Lehr and Tony Schwartz point out with their Corporate Athlete concept, we all work in cycles – sometimes we are conscious of them, sometimes not – and I’ve just come off of a “put your head down and get it done” cycle. I completely underestimated the amount of mental energy involved in moving. […]
Harvey, Houston, and Hometown Heroes
Many of us have stories about the recent hurricane that flooded my old hometown, Houston. Here’s the one closest to my heart. My sister, Susan, lives in Houston and is the Controller for a division of a large French geophysical services company. She and hundreds of others work in an office on the west side […]
The Three Lenses
Myopia. Diagnosed at age eight, I was astonished that my new glasses enabled me to see the leaves on the trees. Who knew! The same “aha”moment can occur in organizations when we shift the perspective from one lens to three to analyze an issue. Individual. Group. Organization. What does the individual need? What does the […]
Shortlist: 12 Best Practices
I’ve compiled a shortlist of best practices for internal alignment and engagement. I’ve seen these work, over and over again, in successful growth companies. 9 Box talent review: Performance vs Potential Tour of Duty conversations / CEO 1-1 Weekly check-ins: 3-5 bullets this week/last week Quarterly executive level meetings / big picture topics Annual […]
A/C or A/A?
One of the major “maturity” shifts in an individual – and in an organization – is that of personal responsibility and accountability. HIRE for this. Reward it. Without it, you end up being a parent playing tug-of-war with your staff. If you are doing all the work of follow-up and accountability, you are working in […]
But That’s the CEO’s Job!
In a meeting with a venture capitalist, I explained who I work with (CEOs), what I do (grow bigger, better companies), and how I do it (creating and aligning internal strategies to support external growth). His response, “But that’s the CEOs job!” Yes, and … Any good leader knows their strengths and areas where they […]
Dependent or Inter-Dependent?
Are your teams dependent or inter-dependent? Dependency alone sets up a power dynamic that gets in the way of good cross-functional teaming. Inter-dependency allows for power sharing – allowing both parties to share situational power. It’s a healthier state. When you charter projects or teams, look for ways to create interdependencies. If they don’t occur […]
Don’t Wait for a Crisis
During a crisis, we can only deal with the urgent – and that rarely includes building relationships. If you are only communicating with others when there is an urgent problem, you are setting up poor relationship patterns and damaging your effectiveness. At best, issue focused communication will produce simple accomodatation of your immediate needs. At […]
Good Guy vs Bad Guy
Here’s a classic case of Good guy vs Bad guy: Intentions vs Behaviors. Intentions are, of course, the good guy. Behaviors, the bad. We begin each year, month, day with intentions about how we will spend our time and how we will behave. We end each year, month, day with behaviors that have diverged from […]