Blog
The Big P
Purpose, not Pandemic Wordcount: 685 Time to read: 3½ minutesPlaceholder “Can a business have a mind, a sub-conscious, a knack for predicting the future, reflexes faster than the speed of thought? Can a business have a spirit? Can a business have a soul? Can a...
The Great Pause
Wordcount: 525 Time to read: 3 minutes “Our experiences always teach us something. If the experience is "bad", then the lesson is even more powerful and meaningful. Every unfortunate incident makes us stronger and better equipped to handle new challenges.” Miya...
The Pandemic Induced Economic Coma
If anybody has too much time these days, they’re just not paying attention.
Change is a state of mind
Life will only change when you become more committed to your dreams than you are to your comfort zone. Billy Cox Wordcount: 522 Time to read: 4 minutes As I’ve grown older and more experienced, two things stand out for me. First, the older I get, the dumber I feel....
Can you lead without a vision?
As Yogi Bera once said, “If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.” Wordcount: 427 Time to read: 3 minutes I find the volume of information delivered through social media and the pace of delivery exhausting. Meteoric growth has amped human...
You get to pick two
I want what I want when I want it Wordcount: 538 Time to read: 3½ minutes Last month, I wrote this BDF issue would be about balancing responsibility and authority. Sorry, I changed my mind. (sometimes that seems like it could be a wonderful experience, yes?) This...
Symptoms Masquerading as Issues
Symptoms masquerading as issues are one of the pitfalls of success.
The problem with being at the top of your game
“The conquerors rode in a triumphal chariot, … A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting.” In the movie Patton, George C. Scott repeats a quote attributed to Gen. George S. Patton. As the...
5 Simple Change Rules the Pros Use to Put People in a Good Mood
Using “change” and “good mood” in a title makes most people’s eyes roll. “nobody likes change” is the common cry. Even though some people like some change, change is tough and disruptive. It takes work and effort. While making change happen and keeping people happy is...
Implementing Business Values
(Part 3 of 3) Reaping the benefits described in last month’s newsletter depends on your business’ values being respected, embraced, followed, and modeled by leadership and staff. Before values can impact culture, they must first be used consciously, consistently, and...
7 Ways Business Values Create Profits
(Part 2 of 3) The biggest problem I see with business values is when leadership puts them on a poster and ignores them. When staff and customers see no connection or correlation between company values and leadership behavior, or as basis for management decisions, you...
Culture by Design
(Part 1 of 3) When babies are borne, they come complete with their own set of fingers, toes, and, to their parents’ joy & frustration, their very own personality. So too, from the moment of conception, each business has its own culture. The simultaneous...
Value of Failure
Sam Walton once stated that his ability to make good decisions was developed by making bad ones. Many decisions are made with insufficient data or experience. Ultimately, we make decisions based on the experiences and knowledge we’ve accumulated. I find most people...
When an elephant is in the room
Have you ever had to confront an elephant in the room? You know exactly what the phrase means–there is a problem several people know about and no one wants to discuss. In business, these elephants can bring even the mightiest organization to a grinding halt. Small...
Leadership & Pressure to Perform
Leaders face subtle yet profound pressures, unseen and unfamiliar to most. They’re expected to solve problems their organizations have never faced, do so swiftly, with confidence, and little impact or cost. Pressure to perform routinely comes from three places … and...
Awareness
When it comes to change, the negative is exactly where most people tend to focus unless you help them focus on something else. Actively directing their focus is exactly the job of leadership. The best way to begin turning the sour lemons of change into sweet lemonade...
Foresight & Lemons of Change
Turning the lemons of change into lemonade begins with foresight. Some of the best paths to foresight run right through the delegation process, which is profoundly invested in and nourishing to it. The best delegation processes include asking the delegate how they...
Profits or Purpose
A common perception is that a business exists to make money. While profits are critical to maintaining operations and delivering value to customers and investors, they are only one indicator of success. In my experience, profit without purpose is pointless and...
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
The different ways people react to change can be entertaining. One example is when I open a workshop by asking, “How many of you believe people like change?” while raising my hand high over my head. Everyone in the room looks at me like I’m crazy and typically, one or...
The Arc of Success
When a business is born, it begins with an idea for a product or service the founders believe will be of value. From that point forward, the business, if it survives, will embark on the Arc of success, a series of five stages of organizational development....