Back to Basics – Email Standards

Back to basics

Waaaaay back in 2012, I got a call asking me to train a company’s leadership team on email basics.  The frustrated owner told me “When we hire people we put them through extensive training on our products and services, but then we just plop them in front of their email and expect them to be…

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If You’re Stuck, You Need to See the Landscape

See The Landscape

My father-in-law, Alvin, is one of the most competent people I’ve ever met.  When faced with any kind of significant decision, my wife and I always make sure we’ve gotten Alvin’s take on the matter before proceeding, because the man is a fountain of wisdom and life experience.  He grew up working on a farm,…

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One Problem at a Time: Lessons from the Shadow Divers

We all know that setting priorities is essential for the growth of any company.  As leaders, we determine these priorities based on financial targets, operational changes, or a broader vision. The challenge many business leaders face is in truly committing to those priorities once you’ve set them.  We’ve all been there – you get to…

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Avoiding the Junior-High Volleyball Effect

Every business, no matter its size, wants its teams to work efficiently.  A common problem, however, is that leaders sometimes don’t clearly define the team members’ roles.  This leads to what I like to call the Junior High Volleyball Effect.  If you’ve ever watched a group of 7th graders’ play volleyball, I guarantee you’ve seen…

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You might be more off-track than you realize. Here’s how to tell.

Are your rocks on track? No, but are they really on track? How about your team’s rocks? They might say they’re on track, but there’s a common tendency in rock reporting that can mask a serious problem, even among well-intended team members. It might be happening right under your nose. We’ll get to that in a minute. But let’s…

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Things I’m Grateful for in 2020 (yes, really!)

For many years, I dismissed the whole “power of positive thinking” thing as a bunch of fluffy nonsense. And then, like a lot of truths, I started to believe it when I realized that the idea is rooted not in 90s self-help books but the bible. In Philippians 4:8, Paul is writing a letter to…

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Reflecting on Trends from 2020

If you’re like me, you were sick of the word “unp*******” (I can’t even bring myself to type it all out) by about April.  My neighbor, who studied politics and history in college, told me “in the future, there will be people doing their entire PhD dissertation on just one quarter of 2020.”  I don’t…

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Helping you Navigate Challenges to find Growth and Momentum

Being a business leader is hard work. You’ve gotten this far, so obviously, you are doing something right.  But, now you’ve may have reached a point where you’ve hit the ceiling and need help to navigate what’s next. Whether it’s a struggle with your vision, your people, or your systems, you need a business development…

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Questions to ask when interviewing a Leadership/Team Coach

Like most new things, getting started can be awkward and clunky. When I get calls from leaders who need help, they are often unsure of where to start or what information to ask for. On this post, I offer you four questions you should ask when interviewing a Leadership/Team Coach, and things to listen for…

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