Taking Care of Your Business

You Gotta Choose Two

Last week I attended the annual gathering for Vistage Chairs from around the world. On the ride to the airport after the conference I met Mark, another Chair from the west coast, who had had a very successful career as a public company CEO. He was a Vistage member for 17 years, and credits the experience with his growth as a business leader. When I asked Mark why he became a Chair, he shared a story of when his wife posed a question at an important juncture in his career. Listen to this podcast to learn what she asked him.

Climbing All the Way to the Top

Yesterday I climbed a mountain. Not figuratively. I actually climbed a mountain. On a couple of occasions as we climbed the steep and rocky path, the trail leveled off, revealing a beautiful view of another mountain. For a moment we thought we were at the top, until we turned and saw that the trail continued upward. Finally we came to a magnificent opening. It was a series of giant boulders, with spectacular views in all directions. We were looking not just at another mountain or two, but at 10 or 12 mountains, and beyond them dozens more. As leaders, we climb mountains all the time, and we may be tempted to stop halfway, and only factor in the viewpoints immediately before us. But we have to climb all the way to the top, where we can see many different perspectives, including--and especially--those that challenge us and make us uncomfortable. Leadership is all about perspectives.

Mentoring Is A Two-Way Street

A number of years ago I worked for a large company, and the CEO required every member of his team to identify a mentor.  And the mentor had to be at least 20 years younger than us.  We would not be mentoring them, he said.  They would be mentoring us.  This week I learned something that surprised me.  Gen Z--defined as someone born in the year 2000 or later--is the largest generation in human history. Over the next 10 years, 1.3 billion of them will enter the global workforce.  The very culture of the workplace itself is changing. As the number of Gen Z-ers in the workfore grows, older and younger generations will both need to adapt.  It's an opportunity for them to mentor each other.

Learning About Leadership From Ducks

From my living room I overlook a small harbor, and one of my favorite things this time of year is watching the ducks. Ducks are extraordinary creatures, who offer extraordinary lessons for business leaders. As a leader are you trying to go it alone? How much are you getting outside perspectives to broaden your vision? And are you adapting your business to rapidly changing conditions? Maybe you can learn something from ducks!

Lessons from a 45 Year Old Memo

For many, the new year is an opportunity to press the reset button, to return to the fundamentals. I recently came across a 45 year old internal memo written by a person who was then the director of marketing at Nike. The memo stopped me in my tracks, first because it was so old, and second because it was so timely. It was entitled "Principles," and for as short as the memo was, it was chock full of wisdom for business leaders today.

Keystone Habits

James Clear reminds us that habits--whether good ones or bad ones--are a collection of tiny decisions: "every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become." And what leader doesn't want to reach their full potential to become the best version of themselves? Sometimes we try to do too much. We want to develop new routines--new habits--so we can optimize our organization, develop our people, reduce our stress, lose weight, become more productive and achieving lasting success in our lives. All at once. But not all habits are created equal. Some of them--keystone habits--hold together other healthy habits. Imagine how much fulfilling your life would be if you could discover, and practice, one keystone habit that made everything else easier?

Imposter Syndrome

The best selling author, Marianne Williamson, once said "As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others." A common fear among leaders is the fear that they are not equipped to lead, and someone is going to find out! It's called Imposter Syndrome, and research shows that as many as 1/3 of high achieving leaders have struggled with the self-doubt and anxiety it creates. The leadership journey is about narrowing the gap between the very best version of ourselves and how we're showing up now. This podcast provides five tips for conquering Imposter Syndrome.

Resilience

In her best-selling book entitled "Grit: The Power and Passion of Perseverance," Angela Duckworth has said, "Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare." Amidst social and economic turbulence and uncertainty, these are challenging times. And during such times, endurance and resilience are required. In this podcast we offer some terrific insights from the business guru, Jim Collins on the topic: How do great leaders navigate tough times? And some of it may surprise you!

How to Address Quiet Quitting, Part 2

Stephen Covey has said that "trust is the highest form of human motivation." And he's right, because it brings out the best in people. This is the second of a two part series on "Quiet Quitting." In part 1 we discussed how to spot it, and today we focus on how to address it.
Every day employees make a choice: "Am I only going to do the minimum necessary to keep my job? Or am I willing to go the extra mile." Research shows that the most important thing that motivates employees to go the extra mile is when their manager does a great job balancing getting results with a genuine concern for employees.
And the most important ingredient for employees to feel valued is when they trust their leader, which requires relationship, consistency and expertise.

How to Spot Quiet Quitting, Part 1

General Douglas MacArthur once said that "age wrinkles the body, but quitting wrinkles the soul." This is first in a two part series on "quiet quitting," which is getting some attention these days. Today we focus on how to spot it,. A recent Workforce Confidence Index by LinkedIn showed that when employees were asked about their primary motivation for staying in their current jobs, 74% chose answers that amounted to some form of "sheltering" in a job: staying safe and hunkering down. This can take the form of only doing what's required or not volunteering for additional projects. And it could be driven by any number of factors: burnout or financial insecurity; a feeling of stagnation or dissatisfaction with leadership; a toxic work culture. In Part 2 we focus on how to address quiet quitting.