As a leader your are never done learning – knowledge is everything. You are only ever as good as what you know and the target of understanding is always moving. You need to sat “green and growing.” Never approach your role from a place of knowing. Instead let curiosity be your default approach to problem solving and decision making.
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…
Introduction: The Need for Continuous Learning “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” — John F. Kennedy Every great leader I’ve ever met has one thing in common—they love to learn. It’s…
As we approach the end of 2024, it’s an important time to step back and take a comprehensive look at the past year and plan for 2025. Intentional reflection and forward-thinking vision mark…
Staying ahead of your competitors is a constant challenge for small business owners. Knowing what your competition is doing is crucial to your strategy and growth. Whether you're competing locally, regionally, or nationally,…
Throughout my journey as a leader, business coach, teacher, and mentor, I’ve come to realize that leadership isn’t a final destination—it’s a continuous process of growth and self-discovery. I’m sharing this blog to…
Integrate being curious into your daily routines. Challenge yourself and your team to think differently, question assumptions, and relentlessly pursue new knowledge and understanding. The future of your organization could depend on how…
As you advance in your career, your role shifts from executing tasks to engaging in critical thinking and strategic planning. You can hire people to handle the day-to-day tasks, but who is responsible…
Jeff Shaara's "The Frozen Hours" offers more than a historical narrative; it's a treasure trove of leadership wisdom. By drawing parallels between military leadership and organizational management, Shaara provides valuable insights that are…
As a business advisor who has worked with hundreds of businesses over the past 25 years, from startups and community-based nonprofits to large established organizations, I've observed patterns of behavior and thought that…
Donald T. Phillips, in his book Martin Luther King on Leadership, does an impressive job of providing significant details as to why Martin Luther King (MLK) was a great leader. He was more…
Growth is hard work. For the past 27 years, I’ve worked as an executive coach, Vistage Chair, trainer or management consultant with hundreds of organizations. They have varied in size from just under…
“You can’t get to the next level by yourself. The higher you go in leadership, the lonelier it gets — unless you build a network that challenges you, supports you, and holds you…
Every leader should constantly ask themselves, “What is my highest and best use to the organization, given the current business environment?” Not only do business and life reward those who are prepared, but they…
The only way to survive a crisis or challenge is to first accept that it exists and then work TOGETHER toward finding the strength and wisdom to identify options and implement the best…
The best leaders I know welcome honest, objective, and constructive feedback. If all you ever want to hear is how smart and wonderful you are, you're missing the point of leadership. It's about making…
Critical thinking doesn’t mean biased thinking. You don’t change the facts to suit your opinion. It should work the other way around. Moreover, adults shouldn't use social media to disparage people they disagree…
Let’s acknowledge the overwhelming number of good, decent people taking a peaceful stand for the rights of their fellow citizens. Let’s create a future history that we can all be proud of and…
Some esteemed organizations and institutions have spent considerable time and money exploring their knowledge missions and identifying who disseminates useful information. Let’s all take a step back, let the experts do their jobs,…
It feels like we live in a world today where rushing to judge the behaviors and actions of others without all the facts has become the norm. It is especially convenient when the…
As I've covered many times in previous blogs it becomes less and less and about you working harder or having all the answers and more about you diligently asking the right questions and…
60% of frontline managers fail within their first two years in the role. 26% feel they were not ready for the role, and 58% reported receiving no management training. Companies annually spend upwards…
In our society that rewards constant action, it is often hard to step back and reflect about where you have been, what you have learned, and where you should be going. However, leadership…
It is never good for any of us to be surrounded by people who are too deferential. Success without humility typically leads to ego issues. I'm not saying we shouldn't value or respect…
I typically ask my friends and clients to share some wisdom about life on their birthdays. I am always impressed by what they produce. The following is my humble attempt to offer ten…
It shouldn't take a crisis to force action, but many leaders operate this way. As a result, many companies are always in a reactive mode and waiting for external or internal stimuli to…
Leaders aren't supposed to know it all, but they should be exceptional learners. There are many opportunities to learn and develop every day. Some things will come easily to you, and others will…
You can never lose your edge in business as a leader. The moment you get complacent your organization becomes vulnerable to its competitors and the vagaries of the marketplace. I've seen many good…
Leaders should be in a constant learning mode. Once you think you know it all, give up the reins of power because you will become detrimental to your organization. While some fundamental beliefs may remain true regardless…
How an organization makes decisions affects whether it will have sustained success. While a company may occasionally experience luck, relying solely on ad hoc judgment is not a sound strategy. One of the…
Most people I know are not good at listening. They prioritize their thoughts and opinions over actively listening to others. I have a colleague who states that, as a leader, you need to…
As you grow as a leader and start to have some success it's important that you not get too full of yourself and remain somewhat humble. This is especially true as you begin…
In business (and life), you are either growing and getting better or going in the opposite direction. Just like your muscles, your brain and natural abilities will atrophy if they don't get exercise.…
If you want to grow your company to the next level, your thinking and actions must be dynamic and proactive. You need to outthink the competition, anticipate market changes, build more sophisticated delivery…
Most of us prefer to occupy the realm of opinions rather than facts - whether we'd like to believe it or not. Instead of taking the time to actually prove something or find…
We all know the danger of rushing to quick judgments or making false assumptions about things, but we continue to do it anyway. I have heard many speakers discuss the reptilian portion of…
I often meet business owners and leaders who think they have it all figured out. Whenever this happens, a red flag goes up for me right away. The best leaders I know are…
Everyone is too quick to jump on the popular opinion bandwagon these days. Instead of taking the time to research and reach an informed conclusion, most people find it much easier to go…
There is nothing wrong with having strong opinions, but always remember this doesn't mean you are right. There is a difference between a fact-based opinion and an experiential opinion. In one case, you…
I'm fond of the Yiddish saying, "Man plans, God laughs..." As much as we can hope to create certainty in our lives, there are always things that pop up unexpectedly and challenge our…
Leadership requires diligent work and study. Very few people can just show up and make it happen. You might be able to depend on your instincts and work ethic for a while, but…
I frequently observe individuals getting into trouble because they refuse to acknowledge their lack of knowledge on specific topics. At a minimum, they make their lives harder than they need to be. They…
Knowledge doesn't just mean being book smart, although this is often an important variable and shouldn't be downplayed. It becomes wisdom when it is complemented with life experience and cultivated by a keen…
Regardless of your role in the organization, I encourage you to make a concerted effort to ask more effective questions. Don't take intellectual shortcuts or cover up a lack of knowledge with simple head nodding…
The problem is that life is complex not simple. There are many reasons why things do or do not happen. At some point we all are faced with difficult choices with no clear…
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…
Despite working hard and meeting our goals, it’s sometimes unclear why we aren’t advancing in our careers. In the absence of strong feedback, we may begin to feel underappreciated or undervalued. While leaders…
How to Be a Leader: An Ancient Guide to Wise Leadership Lead with wisdom, not just willpower.What if the clearest playbook for today’s toughest leadership problems was written two millennia ago? How to…
You Are Now Less Dumb won’t turn you into a perfect thinker—but it will make you reliably less wrong. And that’s the real edge: fewer unforced errors, cleaner decisions, and conversations that leave…
The book shows how to replace overconfidence and stubborn certainty with confident humility and a scientist mindset: form a hypothesis, test it, and be willing to revise. It contrasts the traps of the…
What They Forgot to Teach You About Life at School Essential emotional lessons from The School of Life to help you lead, work, and live better. School taught us algebra and grammar. Real…
Leaders win or lose on the quality of their thinking. This How to Think More Effectively summary is especially valuable for founders and managers who must set strategy under pressure, navigate ambiguity, and…
This Great Thinkers book summary introduces a modern guide to 60 influential ideas drawn from philosophy, psychology, political theory, sociology, art, architecture, and literature—curated by The School of Life. The book assembles practical…
Please click on this link for the Transformational Learning Book Summary. In their headlong rush to transform themselves to meet the challenges of global competition, companies have invested millions in new technologies and…
For leaders who want more than surface-level guidance, this anthology provokes reflection: What does it mean to lead in the face of tension, complexity, and contradiction? How do values shape action in uncertainty?…
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.…
Introduction: “The shortage of (exemplary) leaders is a result of three primary factors: demographic shifts, insufficient training and experiences, and the prevailing mindsets that discourage people from learning to lead.” “Exemplary leaders strive…
By appreciating the present, living authentically, finding happiness in simple pleasures, embracing mortality, navigating life's absurdities with humor, practicing detachment, embracing forgiveness, cultivating patience and determination, enhancing self-esteem, and adjusting perspective, individuals can…
Leadership is not a passive role; it demands action, decisiveness, and the ability to embrace challenges head-on. The best leaders thrive under pressure and find the most demanding aspects of their roles to…
This book serves as a valuable resource for managers and leaders who seek to understand the dynamics of knowledge management and organizational learning, providing practical insights and actionable steps to achieve these goals.
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