Leaders Have Solutions

“Don’t bring me problems; bring me solutions.” Have you heard this? Have you said this? I hear this when I’m working with mangers, especially emerging leaders, but I rarely hear it from accomplished executives. Why is that? Because top-level leaders understand this: If the system works the way it is supposed to, the most capable, … Read more

The Danger of Focusing Only on Business Outcomes

This article from a few months ago continues to hold my interest. Written pre-covid, the article makes this point: Asking, “What’s the ROI?” is dangerous if it’s your only consideration. Big data and the ease of collecting information can woo us into making decisions based only on numbers. Data is important, but values are more … Read more

Leaders Have a Plan to Fill Their Role

No team stays the same forever. In recent years Bob Iger, the Disney CEO, had a successor named only to decide that wasn’t the right direction. He stayed on longer until he recently named Bob Chapek as his successor. Disney watchers had been nervous about these false starts at the top, prompting unease at all … Read more

Leaders Know That You Cannot Optimize the Subsystems to Optimize the System

A member of a client team gave me a book as a gift. The book is The Meaning Revolution by Fred Kofman. It’s very good, and I’m likely to write more about its insights in the months to come, but for now, I want to share my new favorite saying: To optimize the system, you … Read more

MindLab 2019 Report

I’d like to share what DeAnne and I learned at MindLab 2019. We went to Denver a couple of weeks ago to the MindLab conference put on by Wiley. We are Wiley partners, both with Everything DiSC® and The Five Behaviors™. We attended keynotes, breakout sessions, and other events to learn about what’s going on … Read more

Core Value: We are Committed to Continuous Improvement

We are committed to continuous improvement. Each of our values needs to make us somehow distinctive, and it needs to include behaviors that we use internally, as well as with clients and partners. This value is so important to us, but it’s easy to neglect. Sometimes we get busy, and when my calendar is full, … Read more

Core Value: We Exceed Service Expectations

We exceed service expectations. Each of our values needs to make us somehow distinctive, and it needs to have behaviors that we use internally, as well as with clients and partners. I had an internal debate on this one. It seems that quality customer service is a basic expectation. Making it a core value was … Read more

Core Value: We Obsessively Over-Communicate

We obsessively over-communicate. Each of our values needs to make us distinctive, and it needs to have behaviors that we use internally, as well as with clients and partners. Let’s talk about one-word emails. A one-word email to avoid: “Thanks.” In a world of too many emails, this one-word response simply adds to the pile … Read more

Core Value: We are Accountable, Responsive, and Timely

We are accountable, responsive, and timely. Each of our values needs to make us somehow distinctive, and it needs to have behaviors that we use internally, as well as with clients and partners. One of my favorite questions to ask workplace teams is, “Around here, what is the expectation for email and voice mail response time?” … Read more

Leaders Set Personal Development Goals

Personal development goals at work are essential for leaders in order to grow and develop in your career. This may include learning new skills, familiarizing yourself with company practices, policies, and technology, or getting feedback from others. Whatever personal development goals you choose, they must— 1. Be achievable 2. Be measurable Here are two formats … Read more