Dream big. Work hard. J.J. Watt’s motto drives his play on the field and his charitable work off it. During a recent visit to my company, the two-time NFL defensive player of the year shared a glimpse into where this mantra started. It got me thinking about leadership and the defining moments we all face […]
Read MoreIn today’s world, we all have plenty on our plates. Between meetings, phone calls, email and project work, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. And customers have a lot on their plates too. They are dealing with changes as well. That’s why it’s more important than ever for leaders to empower their organizations to act, and […]
Read MoreI recently traveled to Colorado with my family for a long ski weekend. On the trip home, we paid $110 to check four bags. And, despite having no connections, three of those four bags didn’t show up. Have you experienced this, too? It made me wonder: Is this airline at all concerned with customer value? […]
Read MoreWhen I first went into a management role, I thought one of my most important responsibilities was being a problem solver. Team issues. Field/home office disputes. Individual performance shortcomings. I was convinced I could solve them all. There was a time, early in my manager career, where I was struggling with the performance of one […]
Read MoreWe each have the ability to choose how we approach our daily lives. What will you choose? I like to ground my attitude and actions around gratitude, optimism and belief. Those are three pretty simple words, but they carry significant meaning for me – and for the work we all can do as leaders. With […]
Read MoreThanks to everyone for your comments on my last post, where I talked about my two sons and cautioned against holding out to “do what you love.” Instead, I’ve come to believe there’s a real need to learn how to “love what you do.” Early in my career, I constantly looked to see what next […]
Read MoreAre you holding out to “do what you love?” Or, are you learning to “love what you do”? Recently, I was talking with my two sons about this topic – one is a college senior, the other is in his first job out of college. They both want to “do what they love” but are […]
Read MoreI recently had major surgery to correct some ongoing back issues. Spine surgery … nothing to take lightly, but the procedure went well. For me – recovery was the most challenging. I’ve always believed with hard work and determination, you can get ahead – both in my professional career and in my personal life. I […]
Read MoreLeaders lead. And they follow. These sentences sound contradictory, right? After all, we’ve all been conditioned to view leaders as … those out in front, those leading change, those making things happen. We have the context of historical leaders with tremendous personal will and courage. I’ve written about leadership and courage before, so it does seem […]
Read MoreI was at a town hall meeting at one of my company’s processing centers recently. A manager gave me some feedback, and it reinforced something I’d been thinking about lately. Basically, the feedback was: We can do a better job recognizing and thanking those around us who, day in and day out, get the “less […]
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