Morons should kill themselves.When you read that, what’s your reaction? What do you think? How do you feel? What judgments do you make? That first sentence was tweeted, as was this one: Cyclist almost killed my dog this morning. He fell off and yelled at me. I hope he broke his f—ing arm. But wait, there’s … Read more
There’s an archetype that’s been around for a long time in business: the Great Man. It’s based on the belief that an extraordinary individual can save the day. It’s personified by the work of the actor John Wayne: the hero rides into town, and makes everything okay. The End. Fade to black. Roll the credits. … Read more
What comes to mind when you hear the word ego? Is your first association positive or negative? The paradoxical truth is that it’s both. Ego can serve as a a major pro or a major con. Ego can be defined as “a person’s self-esteem, or self-importance”. On the upside of the ego equation, a … Read more
Saturday did not go as planned. Paul, Alex and I were two days into a three-day backpacking trip in the Adirondack mountains of New York State. Hiking north on the Northville-Lake Placid Trail, we were fourteen miles away from civilization. Paul, one of my best friends from college and an experienced hiker, had planned out our route. We’d … Read more
I’m not passive-aggressive…I’m just aggressive. I recognize it’s a problem for the teams that I work with. This was the start of my first leadership coaching session with Renée. Still early in her career but wise beyond her years, Renée has a healthy dose of self-awareness. She knows her own strengths and liabilities. Intelligent and … Read more
The flight started off normal enough. We’d left Newark Airport right on time, and we’d been in the air for three hours. The Boeing-737 descended smoothly, and the pilot brought her in for a perfect landing. What happened next, however, was very strange. A flight attendant got on the intercom and shared this announcement:Ladies and … Read more
If a window of opportunity appears, don’t pull down the shade. Tom Peters Rushing into the ballroom, I scanned my surroundings. There were four large round tables, and they were all full.I really hate being late.I was at a conference center at Stone Mountain, a beautiful setting outside of Atlanta. This was last Wednesday evening, and … Read more
MAKE IT SO. At its core, isn’t this what leadership is about?T o make something that is not yet so – so? It sounds so simple. But it’s not easy. To “make it so” takes: Passion Vision Initiative Influence Courage Strategy Plans Effort And even when you take all these steps, there’s still no guarantee … Read more
Do you have to manage more information than ever before? Is change hitting you faster than ever before? Welcome to the two-headed monster of today’s work world. We’re living in an age of complexity—one that shows no signs of going away or slowing down. Everyone’s dealing with the challenges of more, faster and bigger. ‘Doing … Read more
In working with hundreds of organizations, a recurring theme is that greatleaders develop other leaders. On paper, that’s an easy concept to grasp: it’s pretty obvious. However, the challenge in the real world–the too much to do, not enough time to do it real world– is that developing other leaders gets pushed aside for other priorities.Important … Read more
