Um, hold on a second, just let me close the door to my office. The conversation was about to get a bit more interesting.I was on the phone with the Jan, the head of Human Resources of a privately held consumer products company. The company had notched 102 straight years of profit- until this last year. … Read more
Last Wednesday was a sunny, crisp, beautiful Fall New England morning. That’s when it all went terribly wrong.It was already 8:10 am, and I was hurrying to get Miranda, my nine-year old daughter to school on time.Her school’s about a mile from home, and thus far this school year, we’ve been riding our bicycles to … Read more
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
On Monday night, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will have their first presidential debate. It’s expected to be the most watched debate in U.S. history.For those of us in organizational leadership roles, the debate (no matter what your political leanings) offer an opportunity to observe and talk shop about how people view potential leaders. A … Read more
Innovation: Creating value by doing something better by doing it a new or different way. That “something better” could be many things: A new product A refined process An improved way to collaborate Innovation doesn’t have to mean a radical change -incremental tweaks are innovative, too. Given this broad definition of innovation, everyone can be innovative. … 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
In the course of my consulting engagements, I work with hundreds of mid-level and senior leaders a month. Lately, I’ve asked asked many of them the same question: When you make an offer to be of support to a group of entry-level or junior-level employees, how many of them actually take you up on your offer … Read more
What puts some people on a path of perpetual progress, while others seem destined for daily disappointment? Consider Steve. Over the course of a thirty year career, Steve has risen to the highest ranks of one of the world’s largest consulting companies. A savvy dealmaker, Steve is also known for being one of the most … Read more
