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
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
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
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
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
Wendy was in tears. She was exhausted and completely demoralized.Always a straight- A student, Wendy was feeling the pangs of failure. On this new project team, she felt undervalued and overlooked. The team operated as though she were invisible. They’d discuss things and make decisions without her. As we continued our coaching session, Wendy confided in … Read more
On April 18, 1783, George Washington announced the end of fighting between America and Great Britain. The freedom won in the American Revolution came at a high cost: of the 200,000 Americans who served in the war, 25,000 died. This staggering number represents about 1 percent of total American population at that time. Over the … 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
What do the best leaders do that the rest of us don’t? I discovered the answer to that question for one top leader this past Tuesday. I was in the executive conference room at the headquarters of a large food-service company. With me, scattered around the gigantic table, were four of their 100 District Managers, … Read more
How’s your day going? Busy. Really busy. Crazy busy.Shouldn’t this interchange be officially banned? After all, isn’t ‘busy’ what’s expected? Isn’t busy–and its variants (full, jam-packed, maxed-out, loaded-up) the new normal? You’re busy. Wow. Join the club. According to research from the Society for Human Resource Management, 70% of employees work beyond scheduled time and on … Read more
