After Action Review: Is There an Elephant in the Room?
After every major event, good organizations and teams take a moment and very deliberately review what happened in an After Action Review. In this way, they can keep getting better. It’s a great process, but there’s an elephant in the room that can keep it from working. Today we’re going to talk about what that […]
Be a Finisher, Not Just a Starter
Why is it not enough to be a self-starter? Getting started on something is great. There are lots of great inspirational quotes you can read about starting:
How to Confirm Your Plan with a Recon
Today we’re going the extra mile. Quite literally. Next weekend our Scout troop is going winter camping in the hills of Pennsylvania. I think we have a pretty good plan for the trip, but I always like to confirm my ideas by walking the ground ahead of time whenever possible. It’s a reconnaissance. Join me, […]
The Humble Leader Paradox
How does a humble leader lead without becoming a door mat? I believe the Servant-Leader mindset is the best sustainable approach to leadership. But if you are not careful, it is easy to fall into the idea that to lead, you are supposed to be running around doing everything you can to make everybody happy. […]
How to Train the New Guy
Being the leader is a challenge, but it can be even more challenging when you have new people join the team who don’t yet know how to contribute. In the next two minutes I’m going to show you a way to pull the new guys on to the team and quickly turn them into productive […]
Book Notes: Good to Great
There is a good reason that Jim Collins’ book Good to Great is a #1 best seller with over 3 million copies sold. It is jam-packed with revealing detail and captivating examples of what it took for some companies to rise to sustained greatness. What you may find most interesting from a leadership perspective are the […]
How to Write an Inspiring Vision Statement
A vision statement is supposed to be like the North Star, serving as a light that guides your organization into the future. Today we’re going to talk about how you can put together a great vision statement that unifies and inspires your team, and helps you achieve the future that you dream of.
Book Notes: Drive – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
Give people more money and they will perform better right? Actually, no. Daniel Pink’s book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, throws cold water in the face of standard management thinking. In fact, he lists seven reasons why the reward/punishment model is a bad idea if you are trying to motivate your teammates. In this post […]
How to Give Constructive Feedback
You know, one of the first counseling sessions I received as a leader was also one of the toughest. I learned that I was falling short of my commander’s expectations in several ways, and it was hurting the team. When it was over, I ended up thanking my commander and was determined to get better. […]
How to be Humble
Early in his life, Benjamin Franklin fell into conversation with a friend of his. As Franklin retells the story in his autobiography, “a Quaker Friend…kindly inform’d me that I was generally thought proud.” The Friend went on to describe Franklin’s behavior as insolent and overbearing. And he said that in conversation, being merely being right about […]
Book Notes: Quiet
You are a member of a small group of survivors that has just crash-landed a float plane in remote sub-arctic Canada. You have been able to salvage 15 items from the plane, but you can’t take all of them with you. So as a group, you must rank order the items based on their importance […]
How to Keep Your Leadership in Style: Do the Hustle!
Dance class is over, and looking back I realize that our instructor did not do as advertised. When we signed up and paid our fee, it was to learn the basics of the Swing, Cha-cha, Tango, and Foxtrot. These he did in good style. And in the process, he managed to give us a good […]
