There’s a refrain I hear somewhat often from a certain type of manager. It goes something like this: “Well, my management strategy is that I don’t let my employees come to me with problems. Instead, I tell them to come to me with solutions. I shouldn’t be the central problem solver — they should!” And […]
In business, you’ll often have one or many partners. These can take a lot of different forms, including formal partnerships, employer-employee relationships, large work groups of your peers, or even the c-suite. But even if you’re Bob Iger, I can assure you that you partner with other individuals with whom you have a regular working […]
If you’ve followed this blog for a while (and if you don’t, you should — my mother likes when I’m validated by followers), you know that I often warn people against following the Tyranny of the Urgent in allocating their time. Best practice practice is to let clear priorities and goals be your north star, […]
Many years ago, I found myself in the position of running about a dozen units fulfilling similar roles. Most of them did well, but two of them were struggling and needed restructuring. So we sat down and made the hard decisions that involved reducing staff and reorienting the local organization. The changes we made weren’t […]
It’s easy to predict the themes of most columns this time of year — start setting your goals for 2026, take a look back at how you accomplished your goals in 2025, etc. There’s nothing wrong with these topics, and they’re classics for a reason; strong, visionary leaders are supposed to check their vision and […]
In business, so often it’s about knowing which levels to pull, when. You’re probably familiar with the allegory of a shipping magnate whose freighter is loaded with cargo ready for transport, but something is stuck and the shaft on the propeller won’t turn. The shipping magnate’s crew looks the ship over and everything looks normal. […]
You’re probably at least passingly familiar with the hit Blink 182 song, All the Small Things. It’s catchy, has a good beat, and I think we’ve all heard it countless times in the 26 years since its release. This song about the importance of small gestures recently came to my mind during a coaching session. […]
I grew up on the South Side of Chicago in a very Irish, very Catholic neighborhood. The Serenity Prayer showed up in just about every household. Whether it was a plaque on the wall or carved into a soap dish, it was a cultural mainstay of that community. You’ve probably heard this prayer in reference […]
Lately, a lot of my time has gone toward a new training venture. In this process, I’m documenting skills that I’ve used throughout my career to help new business owners get in front of the very hard learning curve. I’m a “hands-on” manager and prone to jump in, which is often the very wrong answer. […]
