How We Punish Our Performers
The gentleman who sat in the aisle seat next to me on my flight back from Dallas to Atlanta last week was clearly unhappy. I assumed his frustration was at the airline and his having to request to move from his middle seat a few rows up to an aisle seat next to me, so although I quite honestly was tired and not feeling like being too accommodating at the moment, I put my attitude in check and offered to raise my armrest so he could be more comfortable. (more…)
The ancient Romans were masters of architecture, and according to Roman legend, they were also quite adept at taking ownership of their decisions as well. It has been said that when an arch was near completion in ancient Rome, the Roman engineer responsible for designing and overseeing the construction had to stand directly beneath the center of the arch as the capstone was put into place. His standing there symbolized – both figuratively and literally – his willingness to stand beneath the weight of his decisions. (more…)
For some reason, positivity often gets a bad rap. In television and film, overly positive people are portrayed as airheads who are clueless as to what’s really going on. A great story around the office is usually one that gets the most laughs by vilifying the boss or rehashing an epic failure. It’s much easier to think of 100 reasons why an idea won’t work than to come up with 10 of why it will.
Just about everyone has an inner circle. Hopefully your circle is made up of people with whom you are safe discussing topics and getting feedback. The people in your inner circle should bring value to you by both building you up and challenging you. (more…)
If you want to be a good leader you have to realize that it is all about the numbers. Producing the numbers is more important than anything else in business. Most of my clients will be astonished with this point of view. Let me be clear: A leader who cannot produce the numbers will not be successful taking a company into the future. (more…)