“If you’re the boss and your people fight you openly when they think that you are wrong – that’s healthy.” – Robert Townsend Ask most leaders about conflict in the organizations they lead and most will say some version of “We don’t have conflict – we communicate too well for that,” or something along those … Read more

Last week I threw out some ideas that might be a first step towards creating a vision for your organization.  Remember, that was just a beginning – you’d still want to think about things like core values, purpose, your business statement, barriers, different scenarios, etc.  Obviously there is a lot that goes into creating that … Read more

“Where there is no vision, there is no hope.” – George Washington Carver Last week in this space we talked about “relentless vision” and the idea that one of your key responsibilities as a leader is to pursue your vision for the organization with tenacity.  That sounds great – except that a lot of businesses … Read more

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” – Proverbs 29:18 We spend a lot of time on this blog talking about characteristics of great leaders.  If you google “leadership characteristics” you’ll find lists and articles and books written about the kind of qualities that leaders should have.  One that gets mentioned fairly often is … Read more

“What must be done eventually should be done immediately.” – Jeremy Foley, University of Florida At various points in our lives, we all face major barriers that we have to overcome.  It could be a new job or career, a significant financial issue (buying a house, for example), marriage, divorce, or any number of other … Read more

“All failure is failure to adapt; all success is successful adaptation.” – Max McKeown Look up “adaptability” in the dictionary and the definition you see is “the ability to change (or be changed) to fit changed circumstances.”  That’s a pretty good definition, but I can add another: “Something a leader better be good at if … Read more

I attended a seminar last week about reinvesting in manufacturing.  One of the most interesting parts of the seminar was a panel discussion with a group of regional business leaders.  A member of the audience asked what these leaders do to attract, develop, & retain the best & brightest people in their businesses.  There were … Read more

Last week I had a conversation with the owner of a very successful business that reminded me of dozens of conversations I’ve had in the past.  We were talking about the owner’s future (he’s thinking about retirement in the next 5-7 years) and I asked him who would be running the place when he leaves.  … Read more

I’ve had the good fortune to watch this video twice in the past few weeks.  It’s about 18 minutes long and absolutely worth your time. Think about what Simon said in the video.  I’m guessing most of us really do have a pretty good idea about what we do.  I would also agree that a … Read more

One of the hot topics in our world today is innovation.  Companies love to broadcast to the world that they are a leader in innovation.  If you google “innovation” you end up with about 321 million hits.  If you google “innovation in business” you get about 960 million hits.  It’s a topic that’s on everyone’s … Read more