Here’s what we’re thinking about

The #1 Leadership Communication Mistake

I have come to the conclusion that there is one pretty universal communication mistake that is the most damaging and causes the most mischief for leaders. Are you ready?  The mistake is:  not preparing well.  Yes, I know this is not very sexy, but it is incredibly ubiquitous.  People just don’t think about preparing in advance for […]

Oasis Leadership

Another leadership metaphor occurred to me recently:  some leaders are like an oasis, and others are more like a thunderstorm. Some leaders are a quiet resource. They are not showy, they don’t seek the limelight, they don’t draw lots of attention to themselves.  They aren’t a loud voice in the room, and they aren’t “impressive” […]

Starting a Leadership Fire

It occurred to me recently as I was working with a client that developing your people is a lot like starting a fire. There’s an art in starting a fire. You have to know something about the materials that you’re working with. And often, a fire starts small. When fire first starts, it’s often very […]

Get Your Reading Done 2-3 Times Faster

A few weeks ago I wrote about using the audio version of The Economist and other audio resources to keep up with the latest news and information. I’ve learned a few new things since then on the same topic: (1)  Audible.com has a great Android app that allows you to increase the narrator speed up […]

Why Leaders Should Care About Chronic Pain

I was astonished recently to learn that in the United States, 100 million people suffer from chronic pain, which is defined as pain that lasts more than three months. That’s about a third of the total US population.  What this means is that if you were to poll your friends and colleagues, you’d find that […]

Colin Powell Leadership Tips

I recently watched a video clip of Colin Powell speaking on leadership:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T21HBWxBd-U. He’s still got it. Here is his recipe for good leadership: (1)  Have a purpose.  He likes the word purpose instead of mission, or another term, because I think for him it conveys more a sense of an inspiring future.  To be […]

In Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, he talks about the “reality distortion field” that Jobs was able to create around him. This was a phenomenon that colleagues of Jobs talked about, where he was able to convince both himself and those around him of almost anything, through a combination of charisma, the ability to […]

Here’s a tip for leaders who are too busy to read the news: The Economist Magazine has an audio (MP3) version that you can listen to while you drive (or workout, or whatever:  http://www.economist.com/audio-edition). In fact, many publications offer audiocast options that are easy to download over the weekend so that you have something interesting […]

Clearly, I have talent on the brain. Partly this was spurred by my own search for talent for some branding and marketing activities within my own business. But it was further spurred by Marissa Mayer, the new CEO of Yahoo.  Word on the street is that she has adopted the long-standing tradition of the co-founders […]