The water you swim in

What color is the water you swim in? You probably can’t know because you don’t see the water you swim in. From the outside of your fishbowl, – your customers, your advisors, your bankers, your competitors -they see the color of the water you swim in. It is a filter through which they see you.

Zappos culture eats Vegas culture for dinner

Nora Group 1

Starting with dinner at the Venician, you see the excess. Part of CE 3709 Vistage group posed with me in front of a Formula Race Car. They will be shutting down the strip to run it this week in front of all the casinos. Tickets start at $1000, and you can’t see it otherwise unless […]

Adults need play, too!

Nora Group 2

When was the last time you had a weekend to get away and play with your friends? This weekend my Eastside CEO group worked and played together at South Lake Tahoe.

Your daily oasis

When I was a young, driven CEO with 2 small children, the idea of taking time for myself each day was laughable. My “me time” was the 3-4 times each week when I snuck in a run or an aerobics class. Other than that, it was work, family and chores.

Hate is easier

Hate is easier than love. I guess that is just how humans roll. Love can get you killed. The Bible/Torah says love thy neighbor as thy self. That we are told to do it says it is not easy or natural to do so.

Create agency

Vistage

When the pandemic sent millions of people to work from home, each one had to figure out how to connect in to work with perhaps their own old laptop and their phone. Laptops were sold out. Laptop cameras were not available. Internet speeds were too slow. Schools were shut down so kids too had to […]

Ask your customers what sets you apart

When one of my Vistage Members asked me to look at his website’s new landing page, we got focused on describing his competitive advantages in short clear phrases. He was struggling.

He quit????

It feels like a gut punch. You get a call from an important, trusted team member and it is not business as usual. He calls to give you his notice. What???

How old is old?

I was in my teens when the mantra was “don’t trust anyone over 30”. Y2K was going to crash the internet but it didn’t. Singing about “when I’m 64” was hilarious until it was comforting. All those wise sages who said pay into retirement in your 20’s were actually right. I guess I am officially […]

Survey says?

If you ever watched Family Feud, you are familiar with the phrase “survey says?”. Contestants guessed the most popular answers to surveys taken of a relevant group and won prizes for the most accurate answers. Vistage surveys its Members with less than $20mm in annual sales and you can find the August report here.