Last week, I mentioned that I recently completed my first marathon – a trail run through the mud, rain, and wind. It was an extraordinary experience, but the weather and conditions were challenges, to say the least. To be completely open and honest, I didn’t start the event in the best headspace. In fact, I…
“I believe success is achieved by ordinary people with extraordinary determination.” – Zig Ziglar Jim Collins coined the acronym “BHAG,” short for “Big Hairy Audacious Goal”. I set my first BHAG when I joined the Boy Scouts: becoming an Eagle Scout. I also wanted to do it in the shortest amount of time my troop…
My wife, Reka, and I were recently at a conference in San Diego, where I met Steadman Graham, most known for being Oprah’s significant other. It was a small conference organized by Steve Farber, an author and friend of mine. Steve wrote The Radical Leap and his new book, Love Is Just Damn Good Business,…
Not long ago, I was privileged to attend a presentation by Dan Sullivan, the founder of Strategic Coach, a business coaching experience for entrepreneurs. I’m a huge fan of his writing and know a few people who have participated in his experiences. It was fun and enlightening to hear his perspectives on things. One of…
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin I recently put up that quote in both my home office and session space. I am not big on quotes and inspirational pictures hanging on the wall; I don’t have anything against it, it just isn’t me. However, this quote seemed to really resonate…
Recently, I have been asked to provide more talks to mid-level managers of organizations, with the intention for these teams to understand what the leadership team has been working on, become more strategic in their thinking, and learn how to be better managers and departmental leaders. One of the examples I have been using that…
I like to use the analogy that in an organization, the visionary can be compared to the composer, the COO/Integrator is the symphony conductor, and each member of the leadership team is head chair of a section, like the woodwinds or percussion. The composer may provide the music and direction, but the conductor coordinates all…
In the 1980s, there was a popular Muppet character named Kermit the Frog. This colorful hand puppet had a charming personality, a good heart, and was green. He sang a somewhat self-indulgent, self-loathing song that went “It’s not easy being green…” (See video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRZ-IxZ46ng) I can hear you saying, “Kluver…what are you smoking? What…
This is the final post of a series that addresses the notion of why it’s lonely at the top for most senior leaders. Additionally, this series explains how a trusted advisor can help and what a typical engagement with my clients looks like. Once we’ve clearly defined the client’s vision of success, we’re ready to…
Over the last couple posts, we’ve been delving into some of the very real, but rarely discussed, challenges for senior leaders. We moved on to talk about our initial conversations and meetings, as well as the role I play as a trusted advisor and collaborator. This week, we’ll review what a typical engagement looks like…