Build a great company on a powerful foundation!
I’ve had the opportunity to work with so many leaders in different kinds of situations, and it’s surprising how many get stuck on the “big picture” terms of Purpose, Mission, Vision, Goals, Values, Principles, Strategies, Priorities, and so on.
You might even be surprised where I end up with today’s message.
In my own language, I tend toward what feels like the natural English definition of the terms:
Read the rest of this entry »I’m the leader. I have the answers. And I have my act together.
And of course we all know that’s not true. But it’s the façade we try to show the world. Because it’s comfortable.
So how do you deal with your own imperfection?
Read the rest of this entry »We try to make our businesses fairly resilient. Investments will fluctuate, customers will come and go, disasters will happen.
The smaller you are, the more you’ll feel it. That’s just the way it is.
But I don’t see leaders spending as much attention on critical roles that depend too much on a single person. Especially themselves.
Read the rest of this entry »As the boss, you may think that leadership is all about making the plan, communicating the plan, and measuring progress.
That’s kinda true, but it’s not the whole story. Not even the most important part.
The plans create a structure and organization. Great! But rarely do they create the focus and energy for getting results. That comes from where you spend your attention.
Read the rest of this entry »We’ve all been there, and we’ve seen it happen to others.
You’re doing fine for a while, working super hard in a stressful environment, and then something inside you senses that you’ve hit a limit. It might be a feeling of crushing overwhelm, or a more general lack of energy and direction.
We’re human. We have limits.
Read the rest of this entry »I’d love to participate, but I’m too busy right now.
It seems like busy-ness is the universally acceptable excuse for anything. We’re all busy, busy is good, and it’s the way we’ve defined life.
As a result, I’m finding it fascinating to be in a place of having more time to be intentional. I took a break from marketing my coaching business this year, and as a result I created a bunch of time to focus on my other priorities.
It’s a bit disorienting, honestly.
Read the rest of this entry »22 years ago, the world came to a halt.
I expect that almost all of us remember where we were that morning, even those of outside the US. We had no words.
The important question, though, is: What did we learn about ourselves?
Read the rest of this entry »That quote is attributed to Peter Drucker, the amazing leader who helped redefine business in Japan and then around the world.
It’s good to remind ourselves that plans and strategies are fine – even necessary. But the real foundation of getting anything done is the culture of the organization.
This brings to mind a year in an organization I worked for about twenty years ago. The company was getting into serious financial trouble, and it was noted that growth in the number of employees was getting out of hand while the economy was headed the wrong direction.
Read the rest of this entry »Every human needs to be connected to other people.
Unfortunately, people are all flawed and make mistakes. Compounded with the messiness of communication, you end up with chaos. That’s what it means to be human.
But we know all that. What I’m focusing on today is that connecting with others is an act of becoming vulnerable. It’s risky.
Read the rest of this entry »There are just some questions that just might be too scary to put out there.
This can be especially true if you’re a worker with relatively little power. When something looks just a little bit “off”, are you willing to ask to find out more?
Instead, we might deflect with “I guess that’s just the way it’s done” or “It’s above my pay grade.” Now, I get that – why risk a harsh response to a question that you may not be able to do much about anyway?
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The Values-Based Business 