International Executive Transitions
International Executive Transitions

The nice thing about switching countries is that no one (including you) expects you to know anything.  You are completely, certifiably, consciously incompetent.  Don’t laugh.  It’s a privileged state that…

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Wake Analysis on People Development Leadership Skills
Wake Analysis on People Development Leadership Skills

You can learn a lot about a manager by the debris he or she leaves in his or her wake.  Some managers leave a trail of broken and disillusioned people…

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Red Cross Disaster Services – a Lesson in Motivation

I'm spending this week with the leadership of the American Red Cross Disaster Services - in theory to help roll out an iterative approach to disaster management to 140 of…

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Communicating is a new world core leadership skill
Communicating is a new world core leadership skill

"The news had somehow leaked out ahead of schedule—and in my opinion, the spin was unfair and inaccurate." Thus says Maclaren CEO, Farzad Rastegar in "Learning from a Recall" in…

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Strategy is Triage

It was a drill.  We all knew it was a drill.  The accident had been staged so the Life Squad, Fire Department and Police Department could practice working together. We…

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I Have a Dream
I Have a Dream

The thing about this vision thing is that it's not about your vision.  It's about their vision.  The great leaders over time have most certainly painted pictures of a brighter…

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The Power of a Stretch Plan
The Power of a Stretch Plan

In their imperative workshop, one new leader and his team developed hypotheses around how to grow.  They tested those hypotheses and then, later, chose which efforts on which to focus. …

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Fight, flight or freeze
Fight, flight or freeze

When Jared L. Loughner opened fire on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others in a supermarket parking lot in Arizona this past weekend, some ran away, some froze, and some ran…

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Lead from Strength and Compensate for Gaps
Lead from Strength and Compensate for Gaps

Most of us are unbalanced.  We are relatively stronger in some areas than we are in others.  It's important to know yourself so you can lead from your areas of…

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