Optimize

With my background in industrial engineering, my core is optimization. So I’ve been fascinated with the recent popularity of “life-hacking,” which is really just optimizing your time. How few minutes can you exercise (20? 7? 1?) and still receive health benefits? How little time can you spend acquiring food (Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, …) and […]
Is Your Team Scaling – or Straining?

There’s a big difference in scaling and straining as the organization grows, and that difference matters to a team’s ability to execute for the long haul. How do you know how your team is doing? Here are a few indicators for each. Scaling Mostly heads up, focused on the end goal Taking actions that solve […]
The High Cost of Task Switching

Remember the last time you worked on a weekend and completely cleared off your desk? Or the night you worked late and finished a project in less time that you thought it would take? Why can’t we do that during the work day? Task switching. During the weekend and the late night, you gave yourself […]
Not Getting the Behaviors You Want?

You don’t need to use a megaphone. Just ask for what you want, notice what you get. Your chances of getting what you want increase exponentially if others know what you want – and if you notice what you get. Too often we reverse these – I might hear from a client, ” I’m not […]
New Habits: The One Action that Stands in Your Way

Happy New Year, all! View fullsize “One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach.” — Morrow Lindbergh I’ve always loved this quote – both because one literally cannot collect all the seashells but because in order to pick up any new ones, I must put down some of the shells that […]
Pre-Game

Coach Phil Jackson famously uses mindfulness training to get his teams into game shape – knowing that mental state profoundly affects performance. George Mumford has led these sessions for Jackson’s teams, and was quoted in the NY Times this week. He says the results include: “This ability to step back and observe your experience in […]
Being Good is Not Enough
It’s not enough to be good at what you do, you must also be strategically aligned with what others are doing. #nodumbingdown
The Right Question

Planning for 2017 is well underway for most of your organizations. A common method is goal setting that begins with the question “what do we want?” But “what do we want” is not really the right question – or at least not the right first question … I’ve found that starting with “what are we […]
Perspective (or Why Thanksgiving is My Favorite Holiday)

Perspective is an invaluable competency. The ability to see what is truly important. One of my clients uses the phrase “no one lost on eye,” a friend says “no one is shooting at us.” These words are grounding, pulling us back from over reaction to the the merely loud. We live beyond what kings and […]
The Role of a Leader

This week, I’ve been inspired by Ken Chenault, the exceptional CEO at American Express. Chenault says: “I think what’s important for me about leadership (and I’m really passionate about leadership because I think it’s critical, no matter what you do)…I follow a quote from Napoleon. And I always preface this with ‘I don’t want to […]
The Dangers of Team Decision Making

Yes, that’s a provocative title but I see it over and over again. Here’s what happens: We start working with a group of very nice, very smart and very motivated leaders. At some point we demonstrate the benefits of more collaboration, of fewer silos. And then, with the best of intentions, these very bright people stop […]
Can’t See the Leaves for the Trees

I’m lucky enough to call Vermont my home base for summer and fall each year. The Vermont fall foliage is indescribable and must be experienced to fully appreciate its beauty. So much so that every year, over 1.5 million people travel to Vermont just to view the foliage. This – for a state with only […]
How to Lose $7.4 Billion

5% of a company’s employees recently caused an institution to lose an estimated $7.4 billion in value, not to mention the tremendous lost value of goodwill caused by a scandal. The CEO resigned. This loss occurred in the pursuit of $2.6 million in new revenue. Wells Fargo. These employees behaved badly, but also behaved in […]
Decrease to Increase

“Really? They think I’m good at that?” In a more perfect world, 360* assessments would be unnecessary. We’d stay “current” with each other, always delivering praise or asking for the new behaviors needed in real time. But that’s extremely rare. Colleagues withhold behavior feedback for many reasons, including fear of conflict, an overdone sense of […]
3 Questions

The often-asked question “how can I do less” can be translated into “how can I do more,” but more important! Here are three questions to ask yourself as you plan your day: Does this have to be done? Does it have to be done now? Who else could do it? At the end of the […]
Clarity Creates Confidence

Sometimes I wake up at 3:30 a.m. Not every night, not even often. But when I do, it’s usually because I need to make a list. There’s something in my head that is unsettled. I need to create clarity for myself about what must be done, what the options are, or even just what the […]
win-win-win
I just saw a website with one of the company’s core values listed on the landing page. Good idea. You could take it further and turn it into a testimonial from a client about how someone has embodied the value. Good for the client, good for the employee, good for the company.
Are You Better Off?

When assessing a new client system, one common complaint I hear (sadly) is that the current management meetings and retreats aren’t always a good use of time. Yet the opportunity, and opportunity costs, of leadership meetings is enormous! View these meetings from a process standpoint, not just content, and answer this question: How are you […]
Abundance

This time of year our Vermont farmers’ markets are coming into harvest season. I have to be mindful each Saturday morning not to buy more than we can reasonably consume in a week. It’s hard! I both want to buy a variety of beautiful vegetables (all good for me) and I want to buy from […]
The Empty Bench

I’ve just finished a round of mid-year meeting with clients – progress vs. plans, updates to goals, etc. All useful. But time and time again, as I looked around the room, I saw single points of failure in the organizations. An empty bench for backup. In growing organizations, you obviously won’t have fully functional backups […]
Bottom of the Class

After a Saturday morning spinning class, I noticed a new gym next door – Athletx. I poked my head in and and saw a clean, ordered space, full of natural light, timbers, and old brick walls. And instead of the weight machines I expected to see, I saw neat rows of punching bags, a wall of TRX […]
What’s the Best?

One of my projects this summer is sorting. Sorting through my stuff – books, papers, clothes – but also sorting through my activities. I’m constantly searching for the best use of my space and the best use of my time. Such as the best: Exercise in the shortest period of time Clothing that travels well […]
Team Building?

Occasionally, I get a call from someone asking for specific “team building,” usually they’ve heard of results I’ve had else where, and looking for an event to fill in an afternoon at a retreat. The call makes sense, of course, team is part of the name of my business. But my work begins with the […]
The 5 Question Debrief

It’s the end of June! Hopefully you’ve already scheduled a mid-year debrief with your team. If not, now is the time. Here are my 5 favorite debrief questions: Start with review, checking for confirmation and alignment: 1. What are our major goals? 2. Why are these the most important? Then a […]
Smarter Vacations
Photo by Tijana87/iStock / Getty Images You know how returning from vacation can be a little overwhelming? Mountains of unread emails, stacks of snail mail; just catching up can wipe out even the memory of the vacation. One of my smart clients shared his vacation plan with me: He has a week of vacation, followed […]