Archives for “Leadership”
I emailed out to the company today’s quote of the day, something we do internally, with the three quotes below. But given how popular advice from 37 Signals is among some of my employees, I wanted to add some commentary (after the jump). And BTW, I definitely agree with these three quotes from Rework. “You [...]
“And if you ask her for a new assignment, a promotion into a new role, you’re likely to hear the speech she first heard long ago from Mr. Hicks about “getting to zero” with a job. To explain, she picks up a piece of paper and draws a line across it. She shades an area [...]
Thoughts on excuses and accusations in leadership. Back in College I played a lot of racquetball tournaments and played on the Texas A&M racquetball team. I also coached a few hours a week, sometimes kids, sometimes other students, at the local gyms in College Station Texas. Every once in a while when coaching a newbie [...]
Soothsayer. Caesar! Caesar. Ha! who calls? Casca. Bid every noise be still: peace yet again! Caesar. Who is it in the press that calls on me? 100 I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music, Cry ‘Caesar!’ Speak; Caesar is turn’d to hear. Soothsayer. Beware the ides of March. Caesar. What man is that? [...]
“I once watched a highly intelligent Pueblo Indian engaged in intercultural education programs struggle and sweat to put into words a problem he and his people were having to cope with. Whenever a white man is put down in the middle of a pueblo, the Indians must cope with his narcissism as expressed by his [...]
“It is OK to point out what it is wrong, but it is more important to stand for what it is right.” Via the Amazing JJ who knows I am a student of leadership. Thank you JJ!
The “Sandwich Method” of feedback was the first method of constructive criticism I learned as a young manager right out of university. You know it – 1) say something positive then 2) give the constructive criticism and then 3) close with a positive statement. Example: Mary, you are doing a great job on the ACME [...]
The way I see it he said You just can’t win it Everybody’s in it for their own gain You can’t please ‘em all There’s always somebody calling you down I do my best And I do good business There’s a lot of people asking for my time They’re trying to get ahead They’re trying [...]
The following are my notes from listening to Jim Collin‘s audio coaching on “getting the right people on the bus.” From Jim Collins: The Five Key Things to Consider When Looking for the Right People “What are the characteristics of the right people? Are there any generic characteristics we are looking for in the right [...]
The Chron.com started a new blog called The List and asked me to guest blog post. My first (and only) post so far is titled: Chron Post: Millennials head under a rock The GI generation, by all accounts, appears to have raised one of the biggest groups of spoiled kids our country has ever seen. [...]
I just finished reading The Simple Truth About Your Business, Why Focused and Steady Beats Business at the Speed of Light. By Alex Brennan-Martin, a man I have had the privilege of meeting. And a man who has earned a good amount of my money from celebrating dinners at his Houston restaurant with my wife [...]
Just because you are smart doesn’t mean your opinion matters. Yup, you got lottsa gray matter up there, plenty of neurons firing at will, but perhaps the best course of action is to acknowledge you and ignore you. Or me. Here’s the point. Being smart is, you know, pedantic. Narrow. Baseline. Easy. It’s like selecting [...]
Reading Gladwell‘s book Outliers, and this quote grabbed my attention. He’d had to make his way alone, and no one — not rock stars, not professional athletes, not software billionaires, and not even geniuses — ever makes it alone. I have always disliked the phrase “self made man” because in my experience I have never [...]
I have the privilege of working for some amazing clients. To serve them. One amazing person, someone I learned as much from as she hopefully did from us, is Deb Fortune. Deb passed away on November 9th. I just found out. And it is tremendously sad news. Deb Fortune could only look at how to [...]