Leading Ideas

Are You Laying the Groundwork for Mediocrity?

Are You Laying the Groundwork for Mediocrity? Recently I started working with a firm who 5 years ago was at the top of their game, but is now struggling. They got beaten up in the market and haven't been able to regain their footing. To their credit, they realize that market forces aren't the only thing that has led to their trouble. As one VP put it, "I think we started to lose touch with each other and clients a number of years ago. Internally we had competing agendas and externally we weren't innovating. The net effect has been a growing mediocrity."Consider this: Posted Wed Jun 9, 2010 .. Read More

The Real Culprit of the Financial Crisis

The Real Culprit of the Financial Crisis This week on Capitol Hill, Congress was grilling Kerry Killinger, former Wamu CEO, about what he knew regarding the toxic loans that brought down the 119 year old savings & loan which he’d run for 18 years. As you might imagine, the bulk of his testimony amounted to the Ollie North defense – it wasn’t my fault and I didn’t know that much – blah, blah, blah. (I really don’t know what they expect to learn from these guys when they have the threat of criminal charges looming over their heads). Posted Wed Apr 14, 2010 .. Read More

Be Confidently Vulnerable

Be Confidently Vulnerable This week a client asked me what I felt was the most important quality of a successful leader. My response was authenticity because, like a knife, it can cut through undiscussed issues, opening up conversations and making a lot of other problems solvable. Many leaders unfortunately pervert the concept of authenticity, using it as justification to rip into people and ideas without making themselves vulnerable. My client asked me how I'd define authenticity in a simple and succinct way since it's so often misunderstood. Posted Mon Mar 29, 2010 .. Read More

Don't Leave Your Organization Uninspired

Don't Leave Your Organization Uninspired This week, a prospective client, the CEO of a small bank, remarked that morale felt low at his company. He cited a list of external reasons as to why that was the case. They were actually good reasons, but ultimately they were out of his control. "Given the rather unfortunate hand you're holding, what's next?" I asked him. "What's your vision for the future?" He handed me a sheet of paper with the company's vision on it. I couldn't believe it. Posted Sun Jan 24, 2010 .. Read More

Get hell-bent on making it work

Get hell-bent on making it work As I filed some articles from 2009 this weekend I re-read the story of Space-X and its CEO Elon Musk and found it particularly inspiring.  One of his quotes kept ringing in my ears, "Optimism, pessimism, f Posted Wed Jan 13, 2010 .. Read More