Leaders are paid to make the important decisions. They need to ensure that the organization’s decision making process is fact-based and inclusive otherwise it just becomes a battle of opinions. and , when it comes to opinions, the person with the most power typically wins.
During a Vistage coaching session today, I revisited a tool I’ve used many times over the years. It reminded me of something simple: Sometimes the old tools are still the best tools—especially when…
Growth Regardless of Obstacles: How Small Business Leaders Build Sustainable Growth in Any Economy Growing a business is rarely a smooth, predictable process. In fact, most business growth happens during seasons that feel…
The Two Most Important Things a Leader Needs to Be Able to Say Let me share something I’ve come to believe pretty strongly over the years. There are two statements every leader needs…
Sometimes the Things You Don’t Want to Do Matter the Most Sometimes it’s important to do the things you don’t want to do—but know you need to do. We all feel fatigue. We…
What Does Success Really Mean to You? Most people think they know what success is—until you ask them to define it. It sounds like a simple question: What does success mean to you?…
What Happens to Execution Momentum? Every January, I see the same pattern play out. Leaders come back from the holidays energized. Plans feel crisp. Whiteboards are full. Offsites are optimistic. And for a…
The CEO’s Playbook for 2026 Most CEOs I work with aren’t short on ideas, intelligence, or ambition. What they’re short on is clarity, focus, and execution capacity in an environment that keeps getting…
Introduction – Don’t Get Stuck in the Short-Term I’m increasingly concerned that more business leaders have slipped into short-term thinking. After years of volatility and nonstop disruption, many seem almost shell-shocked. Instead of…
High performance is achievable You don’t need jargon to run a tighter, faster shop. You need a simple way to set priorities, make decisions quickly, and keep work moving without drama. I think…
“Do you think the world was created by an accountant? No! The universe was created by the combustion of a creative explosion.” — Robert Redford I decided to revisit this article after hearing about…
Uncertainty Is Reality “The storm doesn’t build your skills; it reveals them.” Uncertainty isn’t a visitor—it’s the neighborhood we work in. Every leader, whether running a start-up, a family business, or a large…
How many times have you made decisions on instinct or with minimal information—only to regret it later? When you’re just starting out, gut decisions often work. Being opportunistic, tactical, and reactive can fuel…
The winners over the next 3–5 years won’t be the ones with the fanciest tech or the biggest marketing budgets. They’ll be the ones who operationalize these four levers across their business—one strategic…
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” — Albert Einstein Running a business is never a straight line. Some years, things hum along smoothly. Other times, the landscape changes—customers evolve, the competition stiffens,…
Contingency planning isn’t about living in fear. It’s about being smart. It’s about protecting what you’ve worked so hard to build—your people, your reputation, your financial stability—so that when the wind shifts, you…
Book Introduction Don’t Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen is a powerful and eye-opening book that challenges one of our most basic assumptions—that our thoughts are always true. Nguyen explains that much…
Life has a way of testing our judgment, grit, and character—especially when you’re responsible for a business and a team. Andy Andrews’ The Traveler’s Gift reads like a parable, but it lands like…
In a world obsessed with speed, noise, and constant motion, Holiday makes a compelling case for slowing down, quieting the mind, and finding clarity in the present moment. Through stories of figures like…
The New Makers of Modern Strategy reminds leaders that strategy isn’t a binder—it’s a living set of choices you make under pressure. Read it to sharpen your judgment, tighten your plans, and align…
Running a business is a thinking sport. You win or lose on the quality of your judgments, not the volume of your activity. The Rules of Thinking is a concise, practical playbook for…
You don’t need a louder voice or a bigger title to lead well. You need clear motives, steady habits, and the courage to do what’s right when it costs. Start there. Keep going.…
There is nothing more important than understanding how reality works and how to deal with it. The state of mind you bring to the process makes all the difference. I have found it…
I believe that business and nonprofit leaders need to think differently about what constitutes success. Besides the quality of their people, what differentiates most high-performing companies is their vision, focus, and discipline. Culturally,…
The leadership journey requires you to cogitate constantly on the role you and others should be playing. As you achieve some level of success, your business may challenge your capabilities to lead it.…
Several years ago, a colleague’s comments encouraged me to revisit the book, The Road Less Traveled, by M. Scott Peck. I am glad this happened because it resonated much differently with me twenty…
Five Stages of Decline: Hubris Born of Success Undisciplined Pursuit of More Denial of Risk and Peril Grasping for Salvation Capitulation to Irreverence or Death “The concept of hubris is defined as…
Please click on this link for the Time Really is Money Book Summary Chapter 1 – Introduction: “…most business owners spend almost all of their time on less than $50 per hour…
Seven Decisions That Shape a Life—and a Legacy In your own words: A journey through adversity, personal responsibility, and the kind of leadership that transforms lives. Andy Andrews takes us on a unique…
By embracing the principles outlined in these sections, leaders can inspire their teams, drive sustainable success, and create a lasting positive impact within their organizations. The path to success involves not just strategic…
By understanding the nature of illusions, their causes, and strategies for addressing them, managers and leaders can foster a more truthful, effective, and dynamic work environment. Implementing these principles helps create a culture…
We have a weekly newsletter packed full of weekly updates of latest content posted here.
‘Ask Ed’ AI Chatbot: Ed has developed this chatbot to allow you to easily access the content he has complied over the last 30 years as a business and leadership coach. Click ‘Ask Ed’ below to get your questions answered.
