I confess to a pet peeve – I cringe when people say some version of this: “If you’re just going to complain, you’d better have a solution. Otherwise you’re wasting my time.” If you say this, you may be ignoring … Read More
I was visiting with a seed scientist once, and I opened the conversation with a simple “So, how was your week?” “Oh, Alan,” Dr. Kim said. “I worked on the Acme project this week. And I learned a lot. There were … Read More
Aren’t excuses so predictable? You almost hold back from asking “Hey, Bill, have you got your TPS report ready?” because you know you’ll hear “I would, but I’m still waiting for Hillary to get the cover page ready.” If you know you’re going to … Read More
Sometimes (especially in election years), a participant in a leadership workshop asks the question, “How does this content relate to political leaders?” I used to try to find some correlation — to point out that my definition of leadership, “meet … Read More
Leaders can get caught up in visionary strategic planning and lots of new initiatives. The result can be lots of overwhelming action plans or distractions from continuing “what works.” Sometimes, instead of an all-out SWOT, a simple “Start, Stop, Continue” … Read More
Have you ever been part of a strategic planning initiative that resulted in a long document, with a 3-year timeline, and several action plans? Many times, these action plans and initiatives involve projects that go above and beyond the day-to-day … Read More
We all need a starting point for discussions about vision, direction, prioritization, and hiring. That’s precisely why leaders love rubrics. Simple rubrics are easy to implement, and help make things clear. Consider using a scale of 1 to 3, or 1 … Read More
If there’s one skill that leaders must master and habitually improve, it’s communication. I say “habitually improve”, because it’s impossible to communicate flawlessly ALL the time. But – we can sure try! Take a look at this story about a … Read More
You don’t have to look too far to find information on how to write SMART goals. But sometimes, that 5-step rubric can intimidate, or push us in the wrong direction. Another great way to write effective goals is to ensure … Read More
There are a number of ways and software methods out there to help you get visual with strategic thinking. Personally, I’m a fan of posting up colored sticky notes on the wall and/or on scratch paper. I also recommend the … Read More