Blog #233 In the previous blog, I explored some of the characteristics of naysayers and how it is common for the insecurities of others to possibly have a negative impact on our own growth. Last week, I used personal examples from my experiences shortly after becoming sober. These examples highlight how sometimes those around us…
Blog #232 Last week, I discussed “new normals,” which are different ways of thinking that eventually evolve into habit. This week, my blog explores the fear and negative thinking that may come from others when you start living your new normal. Once you change your own thinking, people might allow their own self-limiting thoughts to…
Blog #231 Last week, I went for an early morning bike ride in the freezing temperature and blustery winds. I did not think much about it as I prepared for the nine-mile ride to my office. Most of the ice had melted and I felt confident I could handle whatever came up. I had researched…
Blog #230 Usually, I am called in when organizations have hit a plateau and are feeling a bit stuck. Often, these are successful businesses that want to continue the upward trajectory. They just are not sure how to keep the momentum going. This almost always means they are stuck…and a change is going to have…
Blog #229 I have been pondering a recent session I conducted with a leadership team of an organization that had just been purchased by a larger, synergistic competitor. In other words, it was young, big, growing company that was backed by a lot of money, yet they had not been faced with many large business…
Blog #228 I believe that conflict avoidance is the number one killer of productivity and profitability in small and mid-sized businesses. In fact, I think one of the main reasons that people keep me around for facilitation is because I am willing to “Go there”. I can’t tell you the number of times that I…
Blog #227 I love saying things like, “Extraordinary often lives in the unreasonable, so be unreasonable,” “Good enough sucks,” or, to use my favorite Henry Ford quote, “Whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, you’re right.” I push the teams I work with to be unreasonable, to be great, and to believe they…
Blog #226 Recently, Reka and I completed our annual strategic planning trip that we do as a couple. We have done this for 20 years in one form or another, yet we have really embraced it over the last three years. I can confidently say there is not anything else that we do together that…
Blog #225 This post is the fifth part of this series, which shares my insights and take-aways from the recent Inspiring Entrepreneurial Strategy course I completed at Harvard Business School. In this case, the events outlined here happened after my experience at Harvard; however, the thoughts and ideas expressed in this blog occurred to me…
Blog #224 In this blog, the fourth of the series, I will continue sharing my take-aways, observations, and reflections from the Inspiring Entrepreneurial Strategy course I recently took at Harvard Business School. Professor Bill Kerr presented a case study that involved the company CrossFit. The owner of CrossFit was going through a divorce and his…