The Tokyo Olympics is in full swing, and I am loving every second of it. Of course, the big news of this year’s games has been U.S. gymnast Simone Biles. Most people expected her to make history in Tokyo by … Read More
Note from Alan: One of my best friends, Matt Pries, is a wise man and a great writer. I’ve asked him to share some of his thoughts about leadership. Matt is Iowa’s 2021 Coach of the Year, and many of … Read More
I’ve brought up this topic before, but the importance of being clear in your communication can not be over-emphasized. There’s a subtle vocal tick careful leaders avoid using–“honestly.” Often we use this word to get the listeners attention and emphasize … Read More
We’ve all been there—a training session, a professional development day, or leadership workshop we enjoyed but never applied the concepts. Maybe it was good information, delivered decently, with acceptable materials. Yet something kept us from applying it. Perhaps we blame … Read More
Roughly 80% of our decisions are based on our emotional state and 20% are based on logic. There are three reasons for leaders to know what drives decision-making: To ensure our decisions aren’t overly influenced by emotion. Also, to extend … Read More
One of my first experiences with Alan happened in October of 2018, when I enrolled in the Madison County Leadership Institute. During the class, Alan taped a large piece of paper on the wall and asked everyone to write down … Read More
Following a recent training session, a manager expressed their frustration about not getting buy-in from a team member. “Almost everyone on my team puts this into practice, except for a few. What am I supposed to do when someone doesn’t … Read More
My daughter Mara makes astute observations. During a conversation about the importance of self-care, she said, “Even when you do something in your time off, it’s focused on reaching goals. “Do you ever just do something to do it?” I proceeded to give … Read More
I love systems. My bookshelf contains several books which show the importance of processes such as The E-Myth Revisited, Traction, and Good to Great. More recent reads, Atomic Habits, Yes to the Mess, and Inner Game of Work also stress the significance of systems. These books illustrate … Read More
In Atomic Habits, James Clear shares one method for working on a new, intimidating habit: the two-minute rule. Instead of picking an overly long or complex habit, choose one aspect of the habit which takes two minutes. Instead of “Do … Read More