When a major disaster looms, the prepared executive knows exactly what to do. They’ve planned for different scenarios. They have different responses at the ready. At stake is nothing less than the fate of your organization. Even a relatively small crisis can cost your organization dearly if handled poorly. Your planning should include the following…
DetailsThe Business Imperative Everyone has heard the statistic. Two-thirds of all change initiatives fail to achieve their expected business benefits – a statistic that has stayed constant from the 1970s to the present. This failure rate represents billions of dollars in lost productivity, wasted resources, opportunity costs and rework—not to mention the negative impact on…
DetailsEverything rises and falls on leadership. – John Maxwell Addressing the topic of work many years ago, Indira Gandhi said, “My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there…
DetailsThe productivity of a work group seems to depend on how the group members see their own goals in relation to the goals of the organization. – Ken Blanchard When was the last time you took a hard look at the effectiveness of your organizational structure? While most organizations have one, do the people in…
DetailsDeadlines, conference calls, last minute items that pop up, personal commitments—there is a multitude of things that we have to accomplish each day. It is easy to fall into the habit of just crossing things off of our to do list, without being fully present as we get them done. Of course we are physically…
DetailsI don’t care what they’re going to say. Let the storm rage on, the cold never bothered me anyway. – Lyrics from Disney’s’ movie, Frozen. Call me slow, but 229 million people beat me to the YouTube viewing of Let it Go, the enormously popular song from the Disney movie, Frozen. For the record, I…
DetailsTo escape criticism- do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. – Elbert Hubbard A story is told of Winston Churchill and his extraordinary integrity in the face of opposition. During his last year in office, he attended an official ceremony. Several rows behind him two gentlemen began whispering. “That’s Winston Churchill. They say he is getting…
DetailsA leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. – Lao Tzu In 0.2 seconds after typing the word “selfies” into the Google search engine more than 17 million results turned up. To say that we live in a…
DetailsMuch is made of delivering value to shareholders. Ask any senior director, manager or member of the board what his or her goal is in the company, and that will be the most likely response. It’s predictable, and it’s a cop-out. More on that in a moment. The term shareholder refers to those who have…
DetailsTell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. – Benjamin Franklin At school one day a little boy was asked what he was thankful for. The boy replied, “My glasses.” “That’s good,” said the teacher, “they help you see better.” “No,” responded the child, “I’m thankful for my…
DetailsComplaining not only ruins everybody else’s day, it ruins the complainer’s day, too. The more we complain, the more unhappy we get. – Dennis Prager The story is told of a cowboy out West driving down a dirt road, his dog riding in the back of the pickup truck, his faithful horse in the trailer…
DetailsTalent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships. – Michael Jordan March Madness is upon us. It’s the time of the year in college basketball where dreams come true and when hearts are broken depending on the final score. How’s your bracket looking? Regardless of how your team performs there are key leadership lessons…
DetailsNever hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room – Winston Churchill The early American Indians, as the story goes, had a unique practice of training young braves. On the night of a boy’s thirteenth birthday, after learning hunting, scouting, and fishing skills, was put to one final test. He…
DetailsYou’re the same today as you will be in five years except for two things: the people you meet and the books you read. – Charlie “Tremendous” Jones About 350 years ago, as the story is told, a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year they established a town…
DetailsA leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. – John Maxwell An old woodsman gives this advice about catching a porcupine: “Watch for the slapping tail as you dash in and drop a large washtub over him. The washtub will give you something to sit on while you…
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