Category: Leadership Skills & Strategy
One Measure Of The Strength Of A Leader Is The Debris They Leave In Their Wake
Every leader leaves a wake. Most spend their time looking at where they’re going. The better question is what they’re leaving behind. Self-centered leaders move up. They hit their numbers,…
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Build Nested Leadership That Works Without You
What happens to the organization when you’re not in it? That question drives Ron Bogart’s leadership fable, A Heartbeat Away: How Strong Organizations Outlast Strong Personalities. One character wakes from…
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Three Leadership Questions to Answer Before Green-lighting a Project
Many tactical projects fail before they start because leaders green-light the wrong things for the wrong reasons. Before you say “yes,” to a project, you and your team should answer…
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Deploying Judo Strategy To Throw A Stronger Business Competitor
In judo, you do not try to overpower a stronger opponent. You accept their strength, side-step their thrust, and use their weight and momentum to throw them. My earlier article,…
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Deliberately Stupid Executive Onboarding
Every executive walking into a new role is, for a while, stupid. Not incapable. Not unqualified. Stupid in the specific, unavoidable sense that they do not yet know what they…
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Functional Leader Onboarding: Converge Before You Evolve
The fastest way for a new functional or operational leader to fail is to start changing the team before becoming part of it. The better sequence is simpler and harder: converge first,…
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Integration Leadership Isn’t a Detail. It’s the Deal.
KKR's $5.7 billion agreement to acquire Integer Holdings closed a strategic review that started back in April. The medtech manufacturer's board ran the process. Advisors ran the numbers. Lawyers ran…
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The First 100 Days Don’t Start on Day One. They Start Now.
When Infosys named Ashiss Kumar Dash as CEO-designate in July 2026, the announcement came alongside news that the company had lost a major European client - one of several large…
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The Stakeholders You’re Not Thinking About – And Why They Can Derail Your First 100 Days
Cracker Barrel made headlines when its relatively new CEO departed after less than two years in the role they were hired to transform. The reasons were complex, but one thread…
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