It was simultaneously the best and worst feedback I ever received. I was in my late 20’s and was offered a job interview by a friend from church. Suffice it to say his coworkers who interviewed me were not impressed. I was rising through the ranks in my corporate job, but like lots of 20-somethings,…
The movie, not the annual event in Punxsutawney, PA. Most of you have seen the 1993 movie starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell. I asked AI to summarize it. A cynical TV weatherman, Phil Connors, finds himself trapped in a time loop, reliving Groundhog Day endlessly in Punxsutawney, PA. Slowly, repeated failure and despair force…
Decades ago, my boss told me this as a compliment. When I did research for this post, I found out the phrase is also pregnant with political meaning. As part of Mussolini’s rise to power, he took control of Italy’s large-scale public works projects which included rebuilding the railroads after WW1. As Prime Minister, he…
Actually, I’m re-gifting a valuable insight from former Intel CEO Andy Grove and, in reality, it’s more of a gift for you. In his book, High Output Management, Grove discusses at length Task Relevant Maturity. Understanding it well and applying it successfully can drastically improve outputs and can free you from the polar opposites of…
What can you and I learn about ourselves and our organizations from a 20th century French writer? I have to admit, I’ve never read one of Anaïs Nin’s books – her genre isn’t my thing. But since the first time I read this quote many years ago, I’ve thought about it hundreds of times and…
Most business leaders are looking for three things in the fourth quarter – a strong finish to the year (in some industries, this might be your best quarter), solid preparation for a fast start to next year, and some quick wins to keep your team engaged, growing, and productive. How about a quick win activity…
Thanks for inviting me. While you’re enjoying the Photoshop version of me awkwardly crashing your staff meeting, I hope you’ll carefully ponder your answers to the questions. For all of these, I’d want to go around the table and hear from you and your leadership team. What are you working on right now that has…
Title Loans, Payday Loans, Loan Sharks. If you annualized the interest rate on a title loan, it could be as high as 300%. If you annualized the interest rate on a payday loan, it could be as high as 459%. So why do people risk their future fiscal health by utilizing these financial tools? Desperation.…
Several weeks ago, I recorded the ESPN documentary on the 2024 version of Tight End University but just got around to watching it. There’s something we can learn. If you’re not familiar with Tight End university here’s the summary from their website. Founded in 2021 by NFL Tight Ends George Kittle, Travis Kelce and Greg…
There’s not consensus on who coined the phrase, but I’ve thought about this bit of genius hundreds of times over the course of my work and personal life. Sometimes problems are hard to solve because the solutions are hard to execute. The solution might require a very difficult conversation – a conversation that will elicit…