Field notesfrom the practice.Read in sixty seconds.
Brief, practical pieces on leadership, talent, succession, and the hard parts of running a business. Read in sixty seconds. Apply on Monday.
The Best Leaders Become Less Necessary
In every parent’s life, there are moments when you realize you’ve become less necessary to your children. They no longer need you to brush their teeth. They don’t want you to read…
Read the pieceDo You Like My Velour Shirt?
360-feedback and robust personality assessments can be very valuable. They can help us know when we need to change the velour in our lives. They can help us update our leadership wardrobe.
Read the pieceTo Do, or Not To Do?
Chances are you have a To Do list of some form or another. And it keeps you on task and allegedly productive. So, how can we make our To Do list better? How about a To Be list?
Read the pieceWho Are You Really Talking To?
Strong leaders don’t stop at judging the moment. They examine their role in creating it. Clear-eyed leaders don’t always look to the “other” for answers. The first person a leader must learn to lead is the one in the mirror.
Read the pieceIf I Can’t Understand It, Is It True?
We have a hard time dealing with things we can’t imagine or fathom. But just because we can’t understand it, doesn’t mean it’s not true. The same thing goes when leaders get feedback.
Read the pieceWhere Did the Time Go?
After your health, time is your scarcest and most precious resource. It continues to flow whether you waste it or “invest” it. Be deliberate in how you direct it in 2026.
Read the pieceYour Leadership Brand: Is It New Coke or Coke Classic?
People will say, “Perception is reality.” It’s really more that others’ perception of you is the reality. It’s your reality in which you lead.
Read the pieceWhy Your Managers Are Like Your Parents
Your manager is a lot like one of your parents – you get what you get. I would know; I’ve been both. Sometimes I was good at it, and sometimes I sucked…
Read the pieceDo You Question Your Feelings Like You Question Your Thoughts?
Many people question their thoughts but rarely question their feelings. It’s time to embrace the idea that you should question your feelings.
Read the pieceSo What Happens After You’ve Made the Decision?
So What Happens After You’ve Made the Decision? You’re likely only 1/4 of the way there. In the first few years after I started our firm, I was approached about teaching a couple of classes, in finance and management, at a local university.Although I was told I could use multiple choice in my quizzes, I…
Read the pieceDoes AI Make You Less or More Dumb?
As AI takes over drafting our emails, essays, and even greeting cards, are we outsourcing not just our tasks but our thinking? Like spreadsheets freed us from mental math but still required judgment, AI demands we ask: Is this answer reasonable, logical, and worth standing behind? The future may be less about doing the work — and more about knowing when the work is right.
Read the pieceUrgent vs. Important: Can You Live the Difference?
Urgent vs. Important: Can You Live the Difference? The above matrix is often referred to as the Eisenhower matrix, named after Dwight D. Eisenhower, who attributed it to a former college President. The college President apparently said, “I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important…
Read the pieceBeing Confident Doesn’t Mean You’re Accurate
Being Confident Doesn’t Mean You’re Accurate And don’t squeeze those lemons. Thirty years ago this past January, McArthur Wheeler and Clifton Earl Johnson robbed two banks in Pittsburgh.They didn’t conceal their faces.Instead, they soaked them in lemon juice, convinced it would make them invisible to the security cameras. (You might remember using lemon juice as…
Read the pieceMarriage & Leadership
Marriage & Leadership Or, why can’t I just be me? When I got married, I really had no clue what I was doing. My “education” on marriage had been quite limited. I hadn’t taken any course or program on it. Sure, I’d read some articles about how to have a successful one, but safe to…
Read the pieceIt’s More than Just Reading
It’s More than Just Reading So don’t waste your time. I hope your 2025 is off to a great start.With a new year, come New Year’s resolutions. And sometimes that includes reading a good leadership book or two. But remember, leadership books continue to sell because they don’t work. No one wrote the Bible II,…
Read the pieceSo, How Well Did You Do in 2024?
So, How Well Did You Do in 2024? It’s pretty easy to know. The end of a year is a natural time for reflection:How was the year? How did I do? Did I accomplish what I set out to do? Here’s a quick and easy way to assess how well you did as leader in…
Read the pieceWhat Will Be Your Legacy?
What Will Be Your Legacy? …and don’t forget the credenza. Popular leaders are often asked what they would like their legacy to be, as if it’s something akin to a piece of furniture they get to bequeath to their heirs. “Well, thank you, Leah; that’s a very interesting question. In addition to the walnut credenza…
Read the pieceDon’t Be Like the Tile Guy
Don’t Be Like the Tile Guy You want me to do what? I needed some tile work done in my home; so I called a few tile experts.After a detailed conversation with one, he said he’d call me back next week. Then he added, “If I don’t call you back, call me.” I did an…
Read the pieceWhen Will You Do Your Family 360?
When Will You Do Your Family 360? If it’s good enough for work, isn’t it good enough for home? The 360-feedback process is a staple of corporate life. In case you’re not familiar with it, it’s a feedback process in which a person solicits and receives feedback from everyone around them, i.e. their manager, peers,…
Read the pieceWhat’s Your Leadership Process?
What’s Your Leadership Process? If you don’t have some, you need to get some. I’ve been involved in leadership development for over 25 years. So with time, comes some perspective.When I first started out, I was a fan of what you might call the cult of leadership personality. I thought that effective leadership essentially flowed…
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60-Second Read
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Brief, practical pieces on leadership, talent, succession, and the hard parts of running a business. Read in sixty seconds.