Learning from a weed (not learning from weed!) — Like many homeowners, I’m engaged in perpetual battle for my yard with Taraxacum officinale aka The Lion’s Tooth (from the French dent-de-lion) aka the common dandelion. The only common thing about a dandelion is its ubiquity. Its omniscience is amazing and because of that, I especially like the French-derived name…

Actions speak more loudly than words . . . — It’s almost a cliché — as a leader you have to care for your employees. But what does that actually mean? How do you do it? Is remembering the names of their spouses and children enough? Hugs? Foosball in the breakroom? Allow employees to bring their dogs to work? …

Your reaction shapes the culture. — Sooner or later, no matter how good (or bad) a leader you are, an employee is going to drop the ball. They’re going to fail at something, maybe important, maybe not so important, but they’re going to fail. How you respond in that moment and how you deal with the…

The Will to Win . . . — Where does the will to win come from? Perhaps more to my point, the will to achieve excellence? I have two teenage sons. Both make pretty good grades, both play football and wrestle. Both are devastatingly handsome like their father . . . I have one burning the midnight oil…

Great tactic but I see a need for an intermediary step. Chris's direct supervisor needs to sit Chris down and lay things out for him in very clear, very explicit terms. Expectations and standards followed by questions to ensure they're understood. I don't think it's quite this simple. The question gives great clarity going forward but the situation becomes similar to either fixing the car you have or buying a new one. Determining that threshold is key.

Communication, Accountability, Respect, & Trust — Michael Bungay Stanier wrote The Coaching Habit which was published in 2016. It’s a superb book which I only read recently (to my regret). In my defense, I rarely read new leadership books unless they’re by an author I’m familiar with such as Patrick Lencioni. The field of leadership is…

Yeah, it’s getting real up in here — Somehow the spam call made it through my iPhone’s Do Not Answer Unknown Numbers feature. Apple, see me after this about that. So the number was H&H Motors in Wichita, Kansas. Never been there, never heard of them. They were selling United Health plans, a new offering. …

I used to have road rage although not to the point of violence. I honked and sometimes waved at drivers, not using all my fingers . . . Stephen M. R. Covey wrote in his book, The Speed of Trust, (paraphrased) we judge others by their actions but we judge ourselves by our intent. Shortly after I read this, I had two encounters on the interstate near Atlanta. The first one was a guy cutting me off in traffic. The second one was me cutting someone off. The difference? I was heading home because my son was injured. That other guy? He was just a jerk. Or maybe he was rushing to get to his kid. I have no idea.

How do you know about yourself? — Something I struggled with as a young leader was a complete lack of self-awareness. Part of that goes hand in hand with self-confidence but they aren’t mutually exclusive. Part of that also goes with youthful inexperience. …