The whirlwind of your life is real. From the moment you wake up, it’s easy to get swept into it and be spun around by it until crashing into bed at night. You are busy all day! But a consequence of this relentless life-pace is the absence of what I call “thinking time”: the undisturbed […]
A few weeks ago, when watching football, I observed a team marching down the field with the momentum of several first-downs. After a few defensive stops, their fourth down decision was to kick a field goal with good odds of succeeding. However, before the ball was snapped, the left guard jerked ever so slightly, and […]
For young professionals, it’s easy to get caught up in the rat race. America’s work ethic is deeply ingrained in our culture, and it’s generally accepted that, if you work hard and stay focused, you can achieve anything. It’s a great concept, but one that’s easy to take too far. Working hard and staying focused […]
While annual performance reviews were once a widespread convention across multiple industries, all signs point to the fact that this is rapidly changing. More than 90% of employees now prefer real-time feedback and management by objectives to the traditional performance review. Forward-thinking companies are quickly adopting their practices to fit these new preferences. Having only […]
Now that it’s winter, I remembered something that happened after winter last spring. I noticed city employees with brooms sweeping the sand off the sidewalks on the steepest hill in my city–sand that had been put there on the iciest day of last winter to prevent slipping injuries of pedestrians. Days later a street sweeper […]
On long trips, I enjoy my car’s feature of adjusted cruise control: I set the speed at which I want to stay, and not only does it keep me at that speed, but if I approach a slower-moving vehicle in front of me, it slows me down to stay at a safe following distance. However, […]
You know the feeling…It’s late in the day and you look at your to-do list and priority tasks you had slated for the day, and you realize how few you actually got done. I mean, you were busy and moving around all day, but nothing tangible got done, and you are too tired to begin […]
One group I’m in has an annual white elephant gift exchange, and we can expect one gag gift to be opened every year by an unsuspecting “victim”: a Mr. Wonderful doll. You pull the drawstring and he speaks sappy phrases that wives would love to hear their man say every day: “May I rub your […]
After a couple weeks of hearing several of my clients use the word “undervalued” in regards to how they felt their leaders view them, I felt compelled to write a blog about adding value to your people. If you want your organization to be known for truly valuing people over just making money, I have […]
The headline above is attributed to Steve Jobs. Leaders have to make tough decisions that don’t always please everyone. Jobs had his detractors, but there is no debate on his ability to get things done. Many leaders mistake personal popularity for effectiveness. It’s a leader’s job to hold people accountable for producing results. Effective leaders […]
