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.
How’s Your Leadership Practice?
How’s Your Leadership Practice? Today’s actions are tomorrow’s reality. I once took a piano lesson, and I know one day I’ll be a virtuoso.I once took a lesson in painting, and I know one day I’ll be a master.I once took a tennis lesson, and I know one day I’ll play at Wimbledon.I once read…
Read the pieceHow Many Chapters In Your Career?
How Many Chapters In Your Career? And don’t forget the footnotes… If you’ve had a modicum of success in your career, looking back on it, you can likely make sense of it.“First I did this, which led me to that, which created an opportunity for such-and-such, (and so on and so on) …and that’s how…
Read the pieceDo You Do, or Do You Teach?
Do You Do, or Do You Teach? Careful, choose wisely. There’s an old expression that asserts that those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach.So much for management consultants…. It’s often bandied about by careerists who may feel they have little to learn from those who teach, since, “Hey, if you know what works,…
Read the pieceWhy AI Apologized to Me, Twice.
Why AI Apologized to Me, Twice. So should I feel guilty? Artificial Intelligence recently apologized to me. Twice.And I felt slightly guilty. Here’s why: In last month’s 60-Second Read, I discussed a picture taken by the James Webb Space Telescope of a small area of the night sky (about the size of the moon) known…
Read the pieceThe Universe: A Size Beyond Belief (and Comprehension)
The Universe: A Size Beyond Belief (and Comprehension) It will make your head hurt. This month, we will pause all things leadership, and contemplate something a bit more mind-bending. The picture above, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, is of a small area of the night sky (about the size of the moon) known…
Read the pieceThinking of Quitting Your Job?
Thinking of Quitting Your Job? Keep these in mind. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, total job openings as of the end of June were 9.6 million. Also according to the BLS, the total number of unemployed persons in July was 5.8 million. So for every job opening, there was 3/5 of a…
Read the pieceHow to Preserve Your Leadership Presence
How to Preserve Your Leadership Presence And how not to lose it. We’ve all been there.You’re tired, over-worked, and/or stressed out.Someone says something, does something, insinuates something, and that’s it. You lose your composure.And, you feel totally justified when you do.In the moment, you may feel right. You may even feel righteous.But after time passes,…
Read the pieceType A’s are Successful, Suffering, and Satisfied
Type A’s are Successful, Suffering, and Satisfied And they like it that way. Go figure. For Type A people, the glass is 2% empty. They/We are the annoying types who, when everyone was glad to get a 75 on a really tough exam, they were wondering why they missed one question. Type A’s live below…
Read the pieceWhy You Should Avoid Being a Storyteller
Why You Should Avoid Being a Storyteller Just answer the question. There’s a popular thesis that great leaders are great storytellers, that if you aspire to be a great leader, you need to develop your storytelling skills.I’ll save the debate on that thesis for another 60-Second Read.Suffice it to say that I believe there are…
Read the pieceHow Big is Your Blind Spot?
How Big is Your Blind Spot? Who will tell you as it actually is? Our news and social media streams are filled with people in politics and business whose integrity and character are less than stellar. One question that comes to mind when I see the newly fallen at the podium is: “What’s changed?” By…
Read the pieceDo Your Leader Vacuums Need a Cleaning?
Do Your Leader Vacuums Need a Cleaning? If You Don’t Address It, They will Fill It. “Nature abhors a vacuum.” The quote is often attributed to Aristotle, the Greek philosopher (and student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great) who lived from 384 to 322 BC. The quote has nothing to do with your…
Read the pieceWhy You Should Know What Your Leaders Do.
What Your Leaders Need to Do. And, please, don’t look backwards. All great hockey players are ambitious and have a desire to win. Therefore, if I am ambitious and have a desire to win, I should become a great hockey player. As absurd as this sounds, versions of this logic arise in leadership development. Example:We…
Read the pieceThis is Not Your Grandmother’s Artificial Intelligence
This is Not Your Grandmother’s Artificial Intelligence A new era for leaders everywhere If you haven’t heard of ChatGPT from OpenAI, you will very soon.And it will disrupt how you work and how you lead. What is ChatGPT?Instead of getting into the nitty gritty details of artificial intelligence, here’s how ChatGPT will impact you:When you…
Read the pieceBut What Does “Be More Strategic” Really Mean?
But What Does “Be More Strategic” Really Mean? How to develop that skill in yourself and others At various points in a leader’s development, they can be asked “to be more strategic”. Often the request/demand will come in the form of a conversation with one’s manager, in which the manager will say at some point,…
Read the pieceDo You Still Say, “Span of Control”?
Do You Still Say, “Span of Control”? More importantly, are you relevant to others? If you’re old enough, “span of control” used to mean something. Leadership positions were often measured by their spans of control, the number of direct reports they managed. But I can’t remember the last time I heard someone talk about a…
Read the pieceAre You Focused on Being Busy or Being Accomplished?
Are You Focused on Being Busy or Being Accomplished? It’s time to get out of the blender. To say we live in the information age is an understatement. However, just because we have an overwhelming buffet of distractions, doesn’t mean we need to consume all of it. And yet it can be quite addicting, and…
Read the pieceThink Outside the Buzzword
Think Outside the Buzzword How to say a lot and nothing at all, all at the same time. As far as professions go, management consulting has got to be the worst abuser of buzzwords. Sure, other professions have their own type of professional speak and acronyms. For example, my wife, who’s a nurse, talks about…
Read the pieceBuzzword Bingo, The Sequel
Buzzword Bingo, The Sequel 15 years is more than enough time for a sequel. More than 15 years ago, in the January 2007 issue of our 60-Second Read, Think Outside the Buzzword, we featured several popular consultant terms (a.k.a. jargon) along with their alleged as well as their true meaning. Well 15 years is certainly more…
Read the pieceDo You Lead Like a Dopey Parent?
Do You Lead Like a Dopey Parent? Some Lessons from and for the holidays The holidays are a great time for our humanity to play out in all its glory. There’s something about the alchemic nature of the season that turns simple family moments into complex affairs. Sometimes that’s a good thing, and sometimes…. Personally,…
Read the pieceWhy Your Job Description Is Irrelevant
Why Your Job Description Is Irrelevant It’s more about roles, skills and expertise. If you’re unemployed, you don’t have a job. And even if you’re employed, you still don’t have a job. In fact, if you’re smart about it, you don’t even want to have a job. In a blog post from more than 10…
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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.