Be. Do. Say. The Foundation Of Authentic, Trusted Leadership
In their town, deep in the last century, the paramedics and emergency medical technicians that staffed the life squad’s ambulance were volunteers. They were on call for twelve-hour shifts and carried beepers so they could be summoned whatever they were doing. He was...
Executive Onboarding With A Boss Who Didn’t Want You
It happens all the time. Headquarters or owners drops someone in to help a division or portfolio company accelerate through a point of inflection, working for a boss who doesn’t want them. If you’re the one getting dropped in, emphasize building trust in the face of...
Helping Employees Manage Through COVID Wave II
COVID-19 reset everyone’s progress up Maslow’s hierarchy of physiological, safety, belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization needs. As you helped your employees re-boot through the first wave of the pandemic, you needed to meet them where they were and move back...
Why Every Team Needs A Periodic Scrum – Live And In Person
Not every working group needs to meet live. That’s because not every working group needs to function as a team. Many working groups can do fine working mostly independently, coordinating communication and learning as appropriate. By definition, teams are made up of...
How To Avoid The Self-Inflicted COVID Communication Disaster At JP Morgan Chase And Goldman Sachs
It’s surprising and stunning that JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have got this so wrong. As CNBC reported, both banks’ employees are learning about Coronavirus cases in their buildings from press reports and not from their leaders. Their policies are “to inform...
What CEOs Must Do To Avoid The 83% Of Mergers And Acquisitions That Fail
The #1 job of a CEO is vision and values. That true for mergers & acquisitions (M&A) as well. Owning the vision means making sure the tactical merger & acquisition choice matches the overarching company strategy. Owning the values means making sure the...
Which Next Role Increases Your Organization’s Effectiveness
If you want to get more done in the same amount of time you have to add resources. Every leader there ever was has faced the immutable law that scope is a function of resources and time. To get more done, you must add tools to make yourself and others more...
How Naming Jane Fraser CEO Advances Citibank’s Client Focus
Ultimately, all banks are in the client service business. Their product, money, is the ultimate commodity in that its value is literally written on its face. While that can design new services, and enroll interesting partners, they ultimately win or lose based on the...
Taking A Page Out Of Drew Brees’s Playbook To Lead Through COVID-19
It's one thing to break the single season passing NFL passing record after it stood for 27 years. It’s a whole other thing to lead through a pandemic. Or is it? Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux’s leaders Brandon Landry and Scott Taylor have reapplied Drew Brees’s leadership...
Why Managing Hand-Offs Is The Most Essential Skill For High Performing Teams
When some teams of high performers don’t quite gel, it’s due to breakdowns in communication. Each member may have the strengths required. They may mean well. But they’re not working well together. Look to the points of intersection, the hand-offs for the fix....
The Mindset Change Required To Make Virtual Team Rooms Work
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, people worked together in the same physical space. They could all look at the same things in the same dimension at the same time and use words, tone and body language to communicate. Now workers are scattered all over the...
How Joe Biden (And You) Can Keep Those Not Selected As VP Engaged
The Democrats will nominate Kamala Harris as Vice President this week. At the same time, there are more people that wanted the job and thought they had at least an outside chance than any of us imagine. Joe Biden needs to keep them engaged and needs to do that with...
Why Vice President Is Not A Real Job
Vice President is not a job. It’s a title or level. In the case of the Vice President of the United States, the Constitution defines only two responsibilities: 1) Replace the President in case of death, resignation or inability to discharge the powers and duties of...
What You Must Learn From Jim Hackett’s Failure As Ford’s CEO
Jim Hackett’s exit as Ford’s CEO should surprise no one. Billions of dollars in losses, a 40% drop in stock price, and complete lack of clarity around the way forward inevitably had to lead to new CEO. The main lesson from Hackett’s case is that while everyone has to...
How To Accelerate Through The COVID-19 Point Of Inflection
Andy Grove defined a point of inflection as “an event that changes the way we think and act.” Given COVID-19’s impact, the only question is whether you’re going to lead with systemic changes in your organization, market, or industry, or follow others. As McKinsey laid...
Leveraging Excuses To Contact To Make Up For Lost Chance Encounters
It’s turning out that, for at least some, working at home is not so bad. Many have found ways to adapt. Some even think they’re being more productive. One of the things that’s not happening is unplanned chance encounters in hallways, break rooms, and the like. This...
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