The quality question
If you want to get better results, you may think you need to get better answers. Let’s go a little deeper here. Suppose that the question asked is the question answered. If you ask the “wrong” question, you get the “wrong” answer. So, improve the quality of your questions and you will get answers that […]
“Rewirement” – Not Retirement
I heard the phrase this week “Rewirement, not Retirement”, and I’ve been mulling it around for a few days. Many of my 1-2-1’s this year have been with folks thinking of retirement, and they are not too sure what happens next. Yes, they can jump into consulting, or board work, and, they plan lots of […]
Charge and re-charge
If you have seasonality to your work life like I do, planning recharge time after charge time is more necessary than we might think. The second week of each month when I have my Vistage meetings is what I plan my whole month around. If you have to close books, it might be the last […]
Password buddy
In the worst case scenario. say, you were in a car accident, would someone know the password for your phone, or for your computer? Who has your Medical Power of Attorney if you are unconscious? Who makes decisions about your treatment? Who runs the company? This week, one of my Vistage Members was in a […]
Blue zones aren’t real
I must have been 5 when I finally accepted that Santa Claus was a myth. I think we love our myths as humans, especially ones that result in unexpected and unearned gifts, wealth, health happiness, etc. They feed into a yearning we have for a better life, or a simple explanation. Blue Zones were identified […]
The dog days of summer
Ugh! I’m tired of the heat and it is barely August. August came in July. Does that mean September will come now? Well, the fires have already started. That used to be a September thing. Last night the neighbors were in the pool until well past midnight. Why not? We all need to cope. Complaining […]
Assume positive intent
Fraught conversations with people who do not feel safe is something we all have experienced since childhood. In order to protect ourselves, we prepare to be verbally savaged. We stay awake at night planning retorts or revenge. Having a skillful verbal retort gets us some space to think and creates a momentary protective shield. Wait, […]
Sensemaking is a leadership skill
In a Vistage webinar on Friday, Dave Nelson commented that in the list of required leadership skills for successful leaders, perhaps the most important one in this moment, beyond, vision, drive, effective decisionmaking, ability to attract and retain top talent, etc. was sensemaking. His talk was about AI, but this captured my attention immediately. What […]
Execute like a project management pro
Let’s be honest, a great strategy poorly executed doesn’t make it versus your competitors. A pretty good strategy well executed will beat you every time. So, shouldn’t you be focused on executing more effectively? Sure you say, but how? This week Andrea Jones showed my Vistage groups how to Execute Easier. Becoming more organized […]
Endings – elegant or otherwise
How damaging is it when a team member leaves the company for a competitor and trashes everything about your organization on the way out? Have you had this happen to you? Have you done it yourself?