A great piece in Inc magazine recently reminded me of what leaders do wrong on a regular basis – “drive” for performance instead of “lead.” The author Marcel Schwantes makes a great case for why people don’t want to be driven like cattle. If we … Read more
With the employment market tightening up, especially here in the Seattle market, it’s a good time to see what your pipeline looks like. What? You don’t have a pipeline? That’s the response that I get 99% of the time when I talk with small to … Read more
One of the few constants in business is change. Yet, we don’t like it and often ignore the fact that things are always changing. As a business leader, this means you will always be at a disadvantage unless you figure out a way to embrace … Read more
As most of you who manage teams or companies know, a best practice is to give your employees mid-year reviews. Letting them know if they are on track, off track and listening to ideas and thoughts they have about their careers, progress, and goals. It … Read more
Unless you haven’t seen the news this week, we were all witness to the firing of James Comey, the FBI Director. Although governmental appointees and private or public sector employees are different in some respects, firing them should always be done thoughtfully and carefully for … Read more
How many times have you hired someone without having a job description? How many times have you interviewed someone without paying attention to the job description? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this happen over the years and given the difficulty of … Read more
Occasionally I have worked with leaders who believe that unpredictability on their part keeps their teams “on their toes.” The current President also subscribes to this philosophy although as to whether this is a strategy or just a result of impulse remains to be seen. … Read more
Today, reflection time is almost viewed as wasted time. Done well, it’s the least wasted time you will spend all week. As a great piece in The New York Times Op-Ed section recently pointed out, some pretty successful people use it very well. George Schultz … Read more
I read with interest how Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, described his philosophy around “Day 1.” When asked what Day 2 looked like he described it as “Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death. And that’s why … Read more
A great piece in the New York Times this weekend discussed the frenzied world of the college application process and the perceived need for “leadership” abilities. It begged the question – if you aren’t leadership material, could/should you be admitted to college? Of course, the … Read more