To me, baseball spring training season has always been a time of new beginnings, when teams have a chance to remake themselves, and to change their culture if needed. Why can companies and organizations not treat the coming season in the same way? I recently, I found a good starting point. The former CEO of …
Several years ago, I spent 10 days in Ireland traveling the Connemara Trail on horseback with breader Willie Leahy. We rode his surefooted Irish draught/thoroughbred cross descended from Spanish castaways. Our trail from Galway to Clifton was a combination of rough terrain, some deep and at times treacherous bogs, beautiful lakes and long rides at gallop speed along …
Over the years, I’ve learned that the ability to relate is just as important as being knowledgeable. In my book, likability–making that personal connection–is one of the ingredients to success. Whether it’s at the beginning of the selection process or at the end, I’ve found that when quality, value and price are equal, it’s often the likability quotient that drives a transaction. We all …
Time is what we want most, but what we sometimes use the worst. Time is also our greatest commodity. In business, there are some fields where this is more obvious, like “service professionals” including accountants, marketing firms and IT folks who charge by the hour. Lawyers break their actions into billable segments of .1, or 6 …
Charles Portis penned the novel True Grit in 1968. It was subsequently made into a movie in 1969 and a remake was released in 2010. The story is of a 16-year-old girl, an aging U.S. Marshall and a Texas Ranger. The trio overcame an endless succession of challenges to the avenge the murder of the …
You might build the best mousetraps. You might even deliver the best service. But if in the process your communication style misses the mark, you can negatively affect the way customers feel about your company. In my experience, this happens now more than ever. We are in a time of unprecedented communication means and methods. …
I think few would argue against the idea that America is a country obsessed with winning. As Robert Redford said, The slogan I was given as a kid playing sports was, ‘It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.’ That was a lie. Everything matters in this country. What …
On the eve of D day, President Roosevelt led our nation in prayer. Every word was powerful, but the end particularly resonates with me: Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies…let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil. Regardless of which God you maybe …
Recently, I was talking with one of our project managers about the integration of good management and strategic leadership with solid customer relationship skills. There’s no doubt this is an awesome (and hard to find) combination. While I do think good leaders need to have a little DNA for this trait in the beginning, in …
Peter Drucker, a great thinker in management theory and practice, was often quoted on the importance of shaping “the futures that have already happened.” As we are seeing this Recession in the rear view mirror, we are thinking more about this aspect of our company. Is our procedural playbook thick enough? At times would a …
We are hiring for a new senior level project management position. The process has us thinking on many levels, including how candidates would fit into our team dynamic. I was reminded of a recent conversation with the former CEO of J.A. Jones, at one time the largest construction company in the world. Several financial reasons …
Routinely, I try to ask myself if I am being the right kind of leader. Am I leveraging and teaching? Or am I over-coaching, getting into too many of the details and crowding out creativity? Am I allowing the “acorn” to grow or am I smothering it? Over the summer, I received an email from …