Topical Articles
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Executive Improvement
Size matters… doesn’t it? — Are bigger leaders better?
Some CEOs make a lot of money. Their Vice Presidents don't usually make as much, and the directors, managers, and...
What’s in a Name?
-- A rose by any other name… Synonyms. Don’t you just love ‘em? Some examples: Word Synonym Bossy ...
Tough Conversations: Have ‘em or avoid ‘em??
Nobody really likes them. Yes, some are better than others in dealing with them, but they are likely not high on our...
Hey, this stuff works! — Whouldathunkit??
Apologies for the length. We recently received an email from a junior executive we had worked with for several years....
The Trilogy: Responsibility, Accountability, and Leadership
I recently had a conversation with some really smart people around Dan Pink’s book, Drive: The surprising truth about...
The Magic of a Conversation
If you’re not coaching your employees who is? Chances are it won’t be your best performer! Not coaching your employees is akin to a football coach choosing to watch the scoreboard as his primary strategy for winning the game. Unfortunately, that is what many managers do, they use the scoreboard to tell them there are problems (or successes), rather than being in the game itself.
The Power in Asking Questions to Identify Value
Measuring value for clients with clear, tangible results is important. But before measuring anything, we have to be...
CEO Leadership Style When Private Equity Comes In?
When a business brings on a private equity group, whether it is to help them out of turmoil, cash out some owners,...
CEO Challenge: When Private Equity Comes In
So the big guns are coming in-- the private equity group, the new guys. Okay, what now? The process isn’t rocket...
Check Your Ego At the Door…It Might Be You
Our world today tends to be a selfish one and that doesn’t differ when it comes to business either. When you meet with...
The Goal is Success…NOT Perfection
Technical people, the quantitative business people, engineers, developers, programmers etc. are forever looking for...
3 Key Strategies for Effective Training
Training is essential for success—always has been, always will be. But like everything else, not all training is...
Developing Leaders
The Emperor Has No Clothes! …except for his socks
Disclaimer: The identities of the characters in the story below have been changed to protect the innocent from...
So, What’s Next? — Navigating the NOW normal
Being normal is an overrated concept. No one actually fits the definition, since we all have our own, so no one is...
Bad News Bearers
…do we kill the messenger? We’ve all heard – and probably used – the idiom no news is good news, meaning that if we...
Don’t Be a Leadership Dummy
--stop making this so hard I wanted to call this Leadership for Dummies, but that title was already taken. Looking...
Faker! – Leadership & The Imposter Syndrome
You still wrestling with the memory of that bully giving you a wedgie on the crowded playground at recess in the...
Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That?
-- It’s faster to just stop doing stupid shit The title above is from a book of the same name by Henry Alford, who...
When Crisis Turns to Chaos
-- it separates leaders from managers This is definitely not one of those academic treatises about the difference...
That’s a Honkin’ Big Tail!
-- Be careful how you swing it… A couple of years or so ago, I wrote an article about what you lose when you ascend...
Perfectionism Revisited
… stop being a do-it-all About 4 ½ years ago, I wrote a piece for At C-Level about being a Recovering...
Prohibition is Back
Welcome to the new Roarin’ Twenties! The last Roarin’ Twenties was a decade marked by economic growth, technological...
Leadership and the Devil’s Advocate: Saint or Sinner?
“Yes” men, “No” men, or some happy medium?? (“men” used for convenience, and is in no way gender-specific)… Do we...
Sayonara to 2019
Kinda scary to think we’ve put another decade in the can. For the millennials out there, I don’t mean the trash can;...
Organizational Excellence
You Don’t Have to be a Jerk; Really, You Don’t
-- Grace and accountability can coexist Lots of you have asked why I say “Grace and accountability can coexist” so...
Accepted Doesn’t Mean Acceptable
… even if we’ve always done it that way We Texans were a little bit whiney last month during SNOWVID-21, but most of...
Client Covidians, circa 2020
As the consultant, I’m supposed to offer advice, coaching and counsel to my clients. They pay me to bring a...
Nothing Helps a Bad Mood
--like spreading it around 2020 is over. Ding dong, the witch is dead. Don’t you wish we could flip a switch on the...
Simplicity: Thy Name is Decision Making
-- Keep it simple, stupid. Okay, okay. I'm not calling anyone stupid, per se. I just want us all to remember...
On Your Marks, Go!… Get Set
-- 2021 is off and running Kinda like Kevin Berchelmann described a business decision-making style in June’s At...
Fast is Good, Faster is Better!
-- Pick a lane, add speed We need speed. Not the breakneck, uncontrolled, sitting-your-ass-on-a-rocket...
Assuming Makes an… Well, You Get the Picture
Who out there knows the old saw about what happens when you assume? Great. You can put your hands down. Yes, we all...
Officers Eat Last
There is a tradition, especially among our military’s ground troops, that officers eat last. I’ll let the Army and...
Coaching Slugs …What if they just don’t get it??
Coaching Slugs... the uncoachable. Also sometimes known as: Light's on, nobody's home. She just doesn't get it. How'd...
Today’s Myth: Being the Best is the Best
A common narrative today tells us that everyone should strive to be the BEST at whatever they’re pursuing. Number One,...
Too Much Work, Too Little Time … Good Luck With That!
During my last stint in the Pentagon, I worked for more than a few senior executives who were notorious for wanting...
