Our CEO led an all-hands meeting of a company we had just acquired. In that meeting, he did two things. As the new leader of this team, I wasn’t sure how to follow his story! I obviously couldn’t strike a grave, “I’m the new sheriff in town” tone. Nor did I have a ready madcap…
I spent a weekend on a Boy Scout campout last month. (Yes, it was January in Chicago, and we were outside in tents from Friday night until Sunday morning. The temperature ranged from 13° F to 34° F – so it was cold but not life-threatening.) One of the things I love about the Boy…
Who I’m being is more important than what I’m doing. I can do all the right things. I can make budgets and forecasts and track my pipeline and closing ratios, but that might not create more certainty in my finances. I can map out my customer touchpoints, develop relevant case studies, and create compelling content, but still not…
I keep finding that the world isn’t as I want it to be. Do you have that experience? Sometimes, that discovery results in frustration. For example, a team member blows off a deadline because they “weren’t feeling it.” Other times, it results in rage. When I’m in the 3rd hour of my conversation with my…
As you sit down to plan your day, you have some choices to make… You can spend your time on “sure things,” tasks you know how to do and are confident you can complete today. That feels good (I got something done), but you have no leverage on that time. You do one hour’s work;…
In 2024, about half the world voted in national elections. Across all those elections, almost every incumbent party facing election lost vote share; among democracies, over 80% saw the incumbent party lose support compared to the previous election. While there are many reasons for this, it’s undeniable that we’re in a challenging leadership environment. Our…
This is the last week of the year I will be working. I need a break. My pace has been exhausting the last few months, and I look forward to returning in January, renewed and reinvigorated. I can’t wait to spend time with my family over the holidays. We will do some cooking projects, take…
“Explain how being authentic and present will lead to better results. Why is that so powerful? Why is it enough?~ A confused client One of my clients challenged me with this question some weeks back, and I’ve been working on developing a good answer! Here’s where I’ve come to so far–I’d love to hear what…
I’ve come to see that the only problem anyone ever has is believing things that aren’t true. ~ Steve Chandler When I was six years old, I spent a couple of weeks during the summer trying to count to infinity. Someone had told me that infinity is the biggest number that there is, so I…
I was thinking the other day about my 4th-grade teacher. I was a precocious youngster, and she found a way to pull some of us aside and give us extra challenges. Sometimes, we helped our classmates; other times, she encouraged us to go deeper into a subject we enjoyed. She noticed me and found a…