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 efficient with zero training.” Futurists have been predicting the end of email for nearly 20 years. There have been huge improvements in collaborative tools like Asana, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Dropbox, but – like it or not – email isn’t going away anytime soon. And…
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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, would race the schoolbus home (and usually win), ran his own business for most of his career, and can consistently outwork people 50 years his junior. He’s also a combat veteran from the Vietnam War. There’s a number of things Alvin has taught me that…
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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 the office with a clear picture of what your priorities are for the day, but someone stops you with a question on the way to your desk, and before you know it you’re late for your lunch meeting, and haven’t accomplished anything you intended to.…
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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 it: two kids go for the ball at the same time and smack into each other, or multiple people assume that someone else is going to get the ball, while nobody does. Either way, the result is the same: the ball hits the ground. Teams of…
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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 back up a bit first. Anyone familiar with the EOS process understands the importance of reporting on rocks. Quick refresher: rocks are strategic priorities for a company, a department, or an individual. Rocks are an essential way to cut through endless to-do lists and focus…
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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 a tiny church in the city of Philippi (FILL-uh-pie, for those of you keeping score at home), and says: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is…
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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 doubt it – although living through it once was plenty for me, thank you very much, and I for one will not be reading those dissertations. I know that 2020 has been tragic for millions of people, between lockdowns and social unrest and distance learning…
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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 coach to guide you in finding the path forward so you can reach your goals. We get it. At Mile One, we’ve worked with dozens of companies that want to grow but don’t have the right tools to get them there. Mile One, led by…
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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 in their reply. Question 1: Who do you serve? While coaches can work across industries, most specialize to some degree. If you aren’t in their specialty area, proceed with caution. Coaches work most effectively in and amongst businesses that they know the best. Question 2:…
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