John, one of my clients, operated a very successful pair of auto dealerships. His personal income approached a million dollars per year, but he was not a happy camper. John hadn't taken a real family vacation in five years. He was on the treadmill of financial success but personal oblivion.
... Views: 1004
Most executives’ hiring skills are sorely lacking. A couple of years ago, I consulted with a medium-sized company’s Board of Directors to sharpen their ability to recruit and select senior executives from the outside after a couple of bad hiring decisions had nearly buried the company. As a ... Views: 1088
For over forty years, Lou Tice helped corporations, non-profits, sports teams and individual athletes achieve success. As the founder of the Pacific Institute, Lou's thinking on the subject of personal development led to his creating tools and technology that supported people like Kirk Gibson, ... Views: 1273
Picture this: A light plane goes down in the Arizona desert. A team from the NTSB descends on the scene to investigate what happened. After three months of rigorous study and analysis, they're ready to report. They call a news conference. The NTSB administrator approaches the podium. You've seen ... Views: 1371
One of the most popular ongoing debates of the last twenty years concerns the distinctions between management and leadership, and the relative importance of each to organizational success. John Kotter of the Harvard Business School once cited “alignment” as the most critical difference. ... Views: 1367
If you’re not a baseball fan, you may not know his name. Here’s a primer: He’s the best pitcher in baseball. That’s not only my opinion; it’s the overwhelming opinion of his peers. Complete games – Halladay. Innings pitched – Halladay. Earned run average – Halladay. Average wins per season – ... Views: 2215
Many of you know that I invoke sports figures, especially coaches, as examples of the good, the bad, and the ugly of leadership. Many examples of effective leadership come from that world. Pete Carroll in the NFL, Buck Showalter and Joe Girardi in professional baseball and Greg Popovich in the ... Views: 1279
Whenever I discuss my perspective on this subject with others, it stimulates “but what about” questions. “But what about the holocaust?” “But what about Cambodia in the 70s?” You get the idea.
My retort to those people is always the same; their reaction to my retort is always the same; the ... Views: 1459
My new client, Tony, had some "issues." (Don’t we all?) A superb thinker and analytical problem-solver who astounded his co-workers with his intellect, he also got periodically derailed. When his boss (the CEO) criticized his work, Tony would "shut down" for prolonged periods of time. ... Views: 1501
Danielle was an account executive with Forman and Company, a professional services firm that conducted high-end research, primarily for Fortune 500 companies. During her career, she had sold products and services ranging from time-shares to computer software and consulting – all with outstanding ... Views: 1199
According to the late John Gardner, by midlife many of us are “accomplished fugitives from ourselves.” I agree! Someone else once said, “Anyone who has the same beliefs and attitudes at 50 years old that they did at 30 years old has wasted twenty years.” I believe that by the age of 40, many ... Views: 719
I have discussed the ways in which our minds deceive us and how that deception causes malfunction/dysfunction in our lives and businesses. I enumerated several actions that should move you closer to fact and away from fiction. For context, here's that list:
• Deliberately put people in your ... Views: 1143
If you want good answers, you have to ask good questions. If you want compelling, potentially life or business changing answers, you have to ask huge questions. I refer to these, simply, as the “big questions.”
What are big questions? They’re questions that assault the status quo. They ... Views: 1304
I had just joined a Fortune 200 company in an executive level job. In the past when joining a new company, I had always taken time and great pains to figure out the culture of the place. Then I moved deliberately but cautiously in integrating my approach to leadership, the culture of the ... Views: 1270
I was shopping for a new tennis racquet in a store in northern Montgomery County, Maryland. It had recently changed hands after the prior owner had declared bankruptcy. The new proprietor greeted me with a hearty “good morning.” I inquired as to the details of the transfer of ownership. He ... Views: 1338
When I went into business for myself over a dozen years ago after spending decades as a corporate executive, I knew pretty quickly that I needed help building my business. I needed some "rules of the road." I also needed perspective and equanimity that I simply did not have. I knew how to do ... Views: 2059
People in organizations talk about trust. Much of that time, however, is devoted to talking about others who they do NOT trust. I hear comments like the following with regularity:
• "I don't trust my boss. He gives me an assignment and then micro-manages me."
• (From a CEO) "I don't trust ... Views: 1277
Frank was the CEO of a large investment bank that was owned by a gargantuan New York bank. His boss Charles, the chairman of the bank, called me to coach Frank. (Frank and Charles are pseudonyms.) As Charles described it, Frank had a “rough engagement style,” which is corporate speak for not ... Views: 1128
I’ve written on a number of occasions about the importance of objectivity and fact-based decision-making. In managing your business, it’s critical that you make decisions based, as much as possible, on the evidence. Intuition certainly has its place in decision-making, but it has to be ... Views: 1459
I arrived to check in at my hotel in the middle of long business trip. I approached the counter and was greeted by a pleasant young woman with her name emblazoned on a badge affixed to her shirt. It said “Melanie.” Underneath her name was printed one additional word, the dreaded ... Views: 987
I've often written in the past about decision-making biases. ALL OF US rely to some degree on decision-making approaches that yield suboptimum results. Most of those are unconscious. An example is the human tendency to use past experiences, even if statistically insufficient, to make critical ... Views: 1413
Jerry was the CEO of a large bank headquartered in New York. As a client of mine for several years, he had grown to trust my ability to work with “difficult” executives.
One Friday evening I got a call from Jerry’s executive assistant, asking me to meet with him to discuss one of his direct ... Views: 1145
A couple of decades ago before becoming a CEO, I worked for a Fortune 200 company as Chief Marketing and Sales Officer. An organization that had just been spun off from an even larger organization, it had a reputation for being stodgy, bureaucratic and inwardly focused. I am none of those ... Views: 1254
A number of years ago, I documented my values and beliefs regarding how I want to live my life. It was a valuable exercise. Documenting these things, however, is not nearly as important as comparing them to my actual behavior and actions. That exercise has created many “Holy sh**” moments for ... Views: 1121
I recently read a staggering statistic. More than 40% of college graduates never read another book after they graduate – EVER – FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES!
If you are not among that 40%, congratulations; you are among the living. If you are among that 40%, how are you growing? How are you ... Views: 1256
Bill Walsh is generally considered to be the second best coach in the history of the NFL (after Lombardi). People called him a genius because he concocted novel offenses. As head coach and President of the San Francisco 49ers in the 80s, he won four Super Bowls. He embodied technical expertise, ... Views: 1584
Most executives’ hiring skills are sorely lacking. A couple of years ago, I consulted with a medium-sized company’s Board of Directors to sharpen their recruiting and selection of senior executives from the outside, after a couple of bad hiring decisions had nearly buried the company. As a first ... Views: 1237
You just closed a huge deal; time to celebrate. Another buyer has decided that you da man. Time to cash the check and move on to the next opportunity.
Not so fast, Mr./Ms. Wonderful! You've neglected Rule #1 in marketing: Customer expectations begin just as your attentiveness begins to ... Views: 1762
In poker, the term “all in” is used to describe the act of pushing all of your chips to the center of the table – letting it ride; going for broke. When it comes to living our lives, how many of us live so timidly that we will not go “all in?”
Do you linger forever on your successes, or do ... Views: 748
Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's recently released memoir, Known and Unknown, reveals a man of prodigious intellect (no surprise), an endearing sense of humor and little self-doubt. Whether or not you're a fan of the Secretary, it's a great read.
Secretary Rumsfeld's book tour has ... Views: 877
I was sitting in a meeting to watch one of my clients deliver a presentation to a group of twenty senior leaders, including the CEO, of a Fortune 200 company. About five minutes into his "pitch," an attendee raised his hand, was recognized by my client, and then asked a well-articulated, pointed ... Views: 989
Our knowledge of brain science is rapidly evolving. Some things we now know:
Words matter. When you quit smoking, for example, did you tell people you were a non-smoker, or a smoker trying to quit? When you tried to change your leadership style, did you say things such as "I'm an autocrat ... Views: 1089
When Carly Fiorina became the CEO of Hewlett-Packard years ago, she lamented that the culture had become one in which “anyone can say ‘no,’ but nobody can say ‘yes.’” How decisions are made is a significant part of any company’s culture. Like Ms. Fiorina, most executives wrestle with the ... Views: 1116
I make my living in large measure helping executives understand how others see them, and then deciding what to do about that. The truth is that while most of us have a fairly complete knowledge of how other people's behavior affects us, we are generally clueless as to how our behavior affects ... Views: 1188
I’m going to differentiate well crafted from poorly crafted business goals. Your ability to manage your business, your work, your budget, your people and yourself depend on this skill, so spending the next five minutes digesting this brief material can be a game changer for you.
Let’s start ... Views: 1050
To the onlooker, John's life was idyllic. He was a vice president at a large financial services company. He earned great money and appeared to have a successful life. At the age of 43, his mortgage was paid off and his kids' college educations were funded. His wife did volunteer work as a member ... Views: 1111
In any new job, you face a multitude of challenges… all of which have to be addressed “on the run” and simultaneously. One of the biggest of these is “managing up” – that is, working with your new boss.
For too many people, including senior level executives, this becomes a random process. ... Views: 1058