Why do hard things?
Rice University Football Stadium, September 12, 1962 - President John F. Kennedy put the United States and the rest of the world on notice. The [...]
Leader, is your work worthy of contact with life’s realities?
The best leaders have withstood direct contact with life's realities. “A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticize work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life's realities—all these are marks, not ... of superiority but of weakness.”
The weakness of weaknesses
In a client meeting I inquired about a mutual acquaintance I had not seen in a long time. My client said, “He plateaued early.” I [...]
Eating Crow, the art of apology
“I recently had the opportunity, responsibility and privilege of apologizing to a colleague.” “You mean you HAD to apologize to someone, right?” “Well, I didn’t [...]
Rules – should you break ‘em?
I was recently in the home of friends who have a LARGE family. How large? Large enough to field almost any sports team from their [...]
Because it’s right
As a young man coming of age in America in the 1960”s I did not understand Dr. King and therefore did not appreciate what he [...]
Create your legacy
Standing for something is not always comfortable. Yet, discomfort brings engagement and change. Discomfort means you're doing something that others were unlikely to do, because [...]
Wrong place. Now what?
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. was the eldest son of President Teddy Roosevelt and Edith Roosevelt. Ted, as he was often called, had served in WWI on [...]
The curse of charisma
Charisma is to leadership as external stimulants are to getting in shape or winning. A leader's charisma can make the leader – and their followers [...]
Weak and detached executives and their emotional bullsh*t
Sometimes executives, and other managers, exhibit bad behavior. It happens. Managers are people, too. Occasionally, however, executives are abusive, in the same way that a [...]