When I owned my social media company, I brought in a partner who had worked for McKinsey, a high-end, global strategy and consulting company. This person is a brilliant strategist and I learned a lot from him. He introduced me to the McKinsey value “an obligation to dissent.” Today, when I do my sessions with…
Recently, I was talking with a new friend of mine, Tommy Spaulding; he is a speaker, author, coach, and all around good guy. Tommy asked about the bracelets I wear and if they had any meaning. I have begun seeing more and more people wearing bracelets and haven’t thought much of it. Even though I…
Today, when I am greeted with “how’s it going”, the current social equivalent of “hello”, I humbly yet earnestly respond: “I am the luckiest cat on the planet.” (And I mean it!) Some people think I’m just being a smart ass, but I’m not–I feel it deep in my core. I know it. I get…
Stop focusing on what Omaha is not. Don’t try to compete with big city/coastal amenities. Focus on what Omaha is, what Omaha’s values are, and recruit people on those benefits and values. When you think about it, those really are “our people”. Earlier this year, I went to a small breakfast with senior business leaders…
Here’s the takeaway: Worrying about making decisions is a waste of time and energy. Stop doing it. Four times this week, I got to work with people who felt they were in really tight spots when it came to having crucial conversations. They were investing a huge amount of energy in this process. For many…
One of the key ingredients that makes companies successful is a willingness to be open and honest with each other. Understanding and creating this sort of environment needs to be one of the primary objectives of the senior leaders. The most important thing is to have an environment where people can have a disagreement. Engaging…
Here’s the takeaway: If you think that you can hide something that you feel, you’re wrong. We can’t always hide what we think we can. You have to be genuine with your thinking and intentions. If not, people can figure it out. Last week, a man named Dr. Bill Acheson spoke to a group that…
Here’s the takeaway: Your company will not succeed unless you have the right people in the right seats. Here’s an example from my own search for a team member to show you what I mean. In his book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t, Jim Collins introduces the idea of…
For any of you who have been in a strategy session with Kris, you know that he has the handwriting of a five-year-old child and spelling to match. In addition, with all the great ideas running through his head, Kris likes to write blogs, books, and all sorts of things. My name is Maggie Happe,…
On my walk around the lake this morning, I started thinking about the time-tested theory that we only have two things to leverage in our life: We can leverage our time, and our dollars. However, I think that there’s a third point. We can also leverage our ideas. Whether you call it ideas, or knowledge,…