The great Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset once said: “We cannot put off living until we are ready. The most salient characteristic of life is its coerciveness: it is always urgent, “here and now,” without any postponement. Life is fired at us point blank.” Understanding this truism, the challenge for all of us is […]
Happy Thanksgiving! With so much occurring in our world today, I am finding that this is a special year to take stock for all the things for which I am thankful. Call it putting the “thanks” back in Thanksgiving. Most mornings begin for me with giving thanks for twenty things in my life that I’m […]
Smart companies look to the future long before it arrives. Now is the time to do that for 2016. I have the unique pleasure of coaching forward-thinking CEOs and COOs as they lead their respective organizations. They are seizing this time of the year to ultra-focus on 2016. We are discussing how to marshal their teams to […]
You might be surprised to realize that how you introduce yourself makes a big difference with people. In my coaching assignments, I’ve observed executives either going through the motions introducing themselves to people/clients or meaning it and linking their introduction to the excitement of the meeting. Setting the Tone As we’ve spoken about before; people […]
“I’ve got to have these two teams work together in harmony but, they’re at each other’s throats now!” While companies strive for internal harmony among associates, often that’s not realty. Teams feeling territorial, threatened or jealous take aim at the source of this stress which could be another team. And a power battle ensues. As […]
Q4 is often a quarter for investor meetings hosted by Private Equity firms. The good ones understand the importance of presenting their transformative actions in a relational, clear fashion. The bad ones go through the motions without taking the right level of responsibility for what they generated and especially, what they didn’t generate. Deliver Results with […]
Hear Ye, Hear Ye…Don’t wait until an executive MUST be coached, shape them early and well. As a coach, I believe everyone is a candidate for executive coaching, from associates/managers to managing directors/vice presidents to “C” suite executives. Everyone can develop and transform their behavior to fully succeed and prosper in business. But if you wait until […]
I often coach new leaders to listen as though their life depends on it. But to who? Not everyone can provide valuable input, right? Perhaps not but, there are some key groups to whom you should pay special attention. Listening comes in many forms. You’ve got to listen to your Board, your direct reports AND their […]
In our instant access, instant disclosure world, it’s important to bear in mind that as a leader you don’t get a free pass on inappropriate behavior. What you get is a write up in the National Inquirer that you lost your cool. Of course, I don’t mean this literally, I mean it figuratively. But the point […]
The opportunity has arrived! You’ve been anointed as the heir apparent. Congratulations…you are now the boss. You can start telling everyone what to do. NO! Keep your humility, drop the swagger… I said drop it! Keep a clear head as you proceed. Lead First…Delegate Later Sorry to be so immovable on this point BUT, in my experience […]
