Politics, Leaders and Frequent Whackings...

May At C-Level

It's nearly the end of May. Q2 finale is starting to warm up, and the year's midpoint is within rock-throwing distance. As we've been saying here, it's no longer a "new" year, and goals should be well on the way to fruition. Now's the time-if you're on track, great! If not, adjust now. If you can't adjust enough to make it, change the goal.

Don't throw good money after bad, and don't continue to pursue an unreachable goal. That's the equivalent of mining for Unobtanium, and it serves no purpose but to frustrate. We have plenty to worry about without intentionally creating stress.

May has a couple of significant dates besides May Day, Star Wars Day and Cinco de Mayo.

There was Mother's Day, of course. We did brunch at a nearby golf club, and a good time was had by all. I made serious mother-in-law points, since she went with us to brunch. You can save those up, you know. Like frequent flier miles, only better. The pic is my daughter Alexandra, contemplating another run at the buffet.

More importantly for the country, Memorial Day is May 29. Please remember that it's a day of reflection; when we celebrate, we do it to remember those who have fallen protecting our freedoms.

And to not end on a buzz-kill, May also included a trip with a client in Mexico to watch the local professional baseball team -Sultanes de Monterrey - play. The home team won which made everyone in our group happy. There may have been a beer or two, so don't judge...

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Featured Articles

Politics, People, and Leadership

... Don't get them confused

by D. Kevin Berchelmann

Politics. Damn.

It just seems to permeate everything we do today. And not,necessarily, in a good way. "We the people" have seemingly become unable to have common conversations about so many issues.

Leaders... Don't fall for it.

This communication impasse, this idiotic inability to have constructive dialogue, this desire to be "right" about all things partisan that will forever be based in opinion (no matter how strongly you believe), cannot become part of who you are. Not in your professional leadership role.

Survey Says...

If you haven't had a chance to see it, our 2016 Survey of Senior Leadership is still available. Interesting reading, and you can download it here.

In summary, you and your organization's #1 challenge is revenue/earnings and profitability. After that, it gets people-centric real quick, with emphasis on effective communications, manager performance and employee engagement/productivity. Nearly half of you will be increasing overall headcount in 2017.

We'd love to hear your comments, questions or inputs for the upcoming 2017 survey.

Leaders & Laggards

In this section, we take a look at recent news and events, and make a gut-reaction determination for three categories:

Leadership
Leader

Demonstrating Clear,
Personal Leadership

Leadership
Milquetoast

Mediocrity in Leadership

Usually an Opportunity Not Taken, or Similar

Leadership
Laggard

Leadership Has Its Idiots, We Show You Who They Are

"And time of great change, in my mind, requires a transformational leader. And thankfully we have that in Jim." - Bill Ford Jr. describing Jim Hackett, Ford's new CEO, after summarily whacking Mark Fields. Mark was in over his head, and most Boards don't react quick enough. Ford's did, and is our Leadership Leader.

Personality Trait Assessment

Who are you, really?

We can help you answer that question. Take a complimentary (yes, free) assessment yourself, or use it to find out more about candidates. Create a benchmark for skills in your organization, or use it as a template for coaching efforts. Click here to take the assessment and receive a complimentary Personality Profile report.

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