Can you will inspiration? This question comes to me as I sit in an airport, tired, ready to board my 6th flight in 36 hours. My brain feels as foggy as a San Francisco morning or dry as a piece of toast discovered in the toaster a week after it was placed there. To meet […]
Bill has been struggling in his new Vice President role. Three high profile projects have gone south under his leadership in the last 4 months. The COO and CEO are beginning to question their decision to promote him. A self-professed people pleaser, Bill’s long hours and dedication come from a deep desire to prove his […]
It seems everyone is working so hard on their particular area they don’t have the luxury of time to pull their heads up from their desks and get a broader view of the business. To them, being strategic feels like one more thing to do. I think people naturally want to think “big picture.” We […]
Remember Newton’s Third Law of Motion: For every action is there is an equal and opposite reaction? I’ve coined a similar law for business teams: For every symptom, there is a hidden root cause. Symptoms are easy to see while root cause is often hidden. Why should we care? We make decisions on what we […]
Before I sat down to write this column I had just finished a coaching session with a newly promoted mid-level manager. Julie started our conversation with “It’s true, it is lonely at the top. With my promotion I enjoy the opportunity to make a greater impact, but now my actions are scrutinized, former peers are […]
For reasons that include fear for our own well being, companies that measure and reward individual instead of team results, a new generation of employees who feel more entitled than their older peers, and a US culture that reveres individual success, it appears we’ve entered the age of narcissism. Let’s face it, some amount of […]
Why do so many people start a new business, only to fail? According to the Commerce Department 80 percent of all new businesses close their doors within the first five years. Of those that survive another eight in ten will fail in the second five years. There are thousands of books, tapes, seminars and lectures […]
How Do I Start Strong as a New Leader? She was not unlike many others. In fact, her challenges were the most common I have seen in more than 18 years. Debbie was an accomplished worker. She was smart and motivated and after five years in her position, she got the nod to head the […]
Even with all the assessments, scorecards and performance reviews, there appears to be a growing chasm between performance and perception. Why just yesterday a coaching client of mine – we’ll call him Tom – scratched his head when saying, “I thought my work would speak for itself. Now it appears, that in addition to my […]
Would 30 billion in cost savings or added productivity make a difference to our lagging economy? I think so.  To get that huge number wouldn’t require a government bailout or an act of Congress. It’s would be much simpler than that, involving ground-up involvement. Consider these facts.  Each day 11 million meetings take […]