Someone asked me the other day what the “culture” of a company referred to. Immediately I felt like giving them St. Augustine’s definition of time: “As long as you don’t ask me what it is, I know; as soon as you ask me, I don’t.” For me, culture is a Read more…
Most of us have at least heard of the Japanese Martial Art named Aikido. One of its main principles is the use of an attacker’s momentum against them. This allows much smaller and physically weaker practitioners to best much larger and stronger opponents who rely on brute strength alone. Well, Read more…
I once heard it said that the better the leader you are, the more tough conversations you’ll have. We’ve all been there: the performance review with the not-so-star team member, the awkward hiring interview, the irate customer or team member, sales negotiations, letting a team member go, etc. Leaders are Read more…
In my 20’s I spent almost a decade overseas in Europe and South America. During that time I became influenced by the prevailing European animosity toward America and everything she stood for. I’m not proud of those sentiments as I look back on them today. In many ways, the political Read more…
Turnover. The very word strikes fear in the hearts of leaders everywhere. A leader once told me: “The only thing worse than having someone who is a bad fit on my team is the time and effort it takes to replace them.” We all know the time and effort involved Read more…
The manager of a 20 person team confessed to me that he was struggling with some of his team members who do not accept feedback well: “I feel like every time I have to give feedback I’m walking on eggshells.” Most managers have had a team member or two on Read more…
I had an interesting conversation today with a tax consultant from a multinational consulting firm we all would recognize. He was struggling with the way his team is performing. But, as it turns out, he is really not leading a team at all. I admit that defining terms is often Read more…
This was not my first rodeo. I had led teams before. But this was a brand new industry for me and my first time leading a sales organization. I was also a member of the family that owned and operated the company, so I felt like I had something to Read more…
It seems that some people are born to lead, but I felt doomed by my background to not be one of those shining stars. When I read about people like Alexander the Great, Marcus Aurelius, Caesar, Napoleon, Churchill, Washington or Lincoln, something in me used to sigh and say, “these Read more…
Last week I had the pleasure to spend some time with an extremely successful investment banker from one of the most prestigious firms in the country. He asked me about what I was doing now and told him a little about my work in helping organizations become more healthy. His Read more…