When someone says, “She’s a great leader,” here’s what they really mean: She knows where her organization is going and communicates that relentlessly. She knows how to orient team members to success and hold them accountable. She communicates tasks specifically, with timelines and measurements. She roots for her team to succeed; she believes that they…
Today, I’m going to take you on a bit of a journey – warning: it involves algebra! How many people do you have in your life that you trust? I mean, you’d let them hold your wallet, trust. You’d let them babysit your kids, trust. Think about it for a minute. Now, think about just…
Neo was happy in the matrix – as long as he didn’t know it existed. But once he took the red pill, he could see the world as it really is. Did that knowledge make him happy? No, it turned him into a revolutionary whose very life was in danger! When we lead our clients,…
An order taker is someone who delivers exactly what the customer requests. They get all the business the client wants to give them. Order takers are reliving the client of tasks that they need done. “Make me a video, add this page to my website, I need copy for this ad,” says the client! “Right…
My bookkeeper, who’s from New Orleans, reached out to check in with me yesterday. “Y’all OK in Chicago?” Yes, it was an intense weekend in Chicago, intense and surreal. First, there was the grief over yet another unjustified police killing. Then, there were the protests. At first, they were energizing — let’s do something. Then…
“Hey boss, could I ask you something? You know we just had a baby last year, and we bought a new house too. I’m just wondering, how’s the company doing?” It’s reasonable for your team to be asking you questions like this right now. Truthfully, if they aren’t asking you, it’s because they are too…
It’s 3 AM; you’re wide awake, unable to go back to sleep. What’s on your mind? When I’m awake at 3 AM unable to go back to sleep, my fears are running away with me. I’ve done something terribly wrong, I’ve miscalculated my expenses, my clients are never going to pay me again, I’m defaulting…
When you own a business you get to be the top dog, things run “your way,” and you get to decide what you want to do, when you want to work, everything about your business is yours to decide. It also means that when things go wrong, it’s your fault. When your team members drop…
In our last email, I discussed some actions you need to take as a leader to be available for your team, your customers, and your community while we’re all “social distancing.” But you can’t give from what you don’t have, so today, let’s talk about keeping your bucket full so that you can continue to…
On October 17, 1989, my parents went to see the World Series game between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s. Just as the festivities were beginning, a giant earthquake hit the bay area, destroying freeways, toppling buildings, and throwing the region into chaos. When my parents got home to their brick apartment building in…