A few years ago, I read Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. It’s an excellent book about end-of-life issues and I highly recommend it, but the idea that most stuck with me is summarized in this quote: “We want autonomy for ourselves and safety for those we love. That remains the main problem and paradox for…
Did you know that Warren Buffett has created over 90% of his wealth since he turned 65? He became a millionaire in 1962 when he was 32 years old. He became a billionaire in 1990 when he was 60. Last year he reached $20 Billion in net worth (after giving away much of his Berkshire…
We’ve frequently discussed how making decisions is the leader’s #1 job. It’s what earns you the big bucks. Somedays, you get the easy ones. The client is 60 days late on their last invoice, but they want us to expedite the delivery of their website so that it will be ready for the upcoming trade…
One of the most painful truths I’ve ever encountered is that if I want to be good at something, I have to tolerate being terrible at it for a while. That feeling of not knowing what I’m doing is terribly uncomfortable – especially since there are many ways I could spend my time working within…
I’m an unabashed Ted Lasso fan. The first season was perfect for the pandemic. The second season had enough twists and turns to hold me on the edge of my seat with characters I cared about. We’ve had a rocky and uneven third season so far – but I trust Jason Sudeikis to land this…
Our local AYSO soccer league designates one game each season as Silent Saturday, where they ask the parents and the coaches not to shout at the players during the game. No instructions about what play to run. No encouragement when they excel or coaching when we perceive that they fail. For that one Saturday, the…
The first project I ever led was a debacle. The design didn’t work; the product shipped late with huge cost overruns. Then it failed in the market – no one wanted to buy it. I got my first chance to lead a company just as my marriage was falling apart. I quit the job I…
I was at a holiday party last month, and it was full of agency owners. As I walked through the crowd, I must have heard this snippet of conversation a dozen times. “How are you?” “Oh, I’m so busy, just slammed. It’s really overwhelming…” Each time I heard it, I got more disturbed. Why do…
In the last three years, I’ve worked with several founders who made their businesses smaller, intentionally. Their businesses had grown in ways that became a burden. For some, it was generating the work to cover everyone’s salaries. For others, their size created a firm that was no longer a fit for the work they loved…
I was listening to Rachel Rogers and Corey Arvinger talk on the Hello7 Podcast, and this section caught my ear! Rachel: And I think making quick decisions is the mark of a powerful CEO, right? A lot of people think about it forever, hem and haw for months. And it’s like the opportunities are passing…