I don’t often use the word “ought” but I’m making an exception: if you’re a leader, you really ought to read Peggy Noonan’s column Declarations in the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal. Her insights are consistently exceptional. This past weekend she wrote about Barack Obama and his speaking skills. She agrees that he…
How many important conquests have ended in a whimper? How often have leaders declared victory too soon? When is it prudent to declare success? These are important considerations for leaders. Cloudy outcomes are more common than decisive victories. Credibility is undermined by prematurely declared success or a fizzled outcome and followers are discouraged or even…
Those were the words John McCain used to describe Barack Obama’s campaign promises. While I’m not sure I agree, it was a lovely turn of the phrase. Unfortunately I find McCain’s promises to be substantive and boring. That’s a problem for him. Leaders, including politicians, are always challenged to deliver meaningful and substantive messages in…
The president of an organization I work with was complaining about being second guessed. He had made an unpopular decision and everyone, it seemed, thought they could have done better. My advice: Get used to it. Being second-guessed goes with the territory. Often the only people who will truly sympathize with you are other leaders…
Can a company be a remarkable performer? I believe it can. For an example, read my post about Boston Beer Company’s remarkable performance in making hops available to smaller brewers who were in desparate need of the critical ingredient. Read about it here.
In the age of political correctness and relativism, we are often led to believe that all opinions have equal value. They don’t. Some are right, some are wrong and most are somewhere in-between. We do ourselves and our culture a disservice by accepting the opinion that fried eggs are covertly running our planet has equal…
In the aftermath of the tragic shootings at Northern Illinois University yesterday there are many suggesting simple solutions to a complex problem. Unfortunately, complex problems rarely have simple solutions. We grieve with those who were affected by the senseless act of a cowardly shooter. Close to the event it is impossible to separate emotion from…
We hope that those of you who lead, train leaders or desire to lead, regardless of title, are as excited as we are about our new DVD training curriculum based on Mark’s best selling, You Don’t Need a Title To Be a Leader: How Anyone, Anywhere Can Make a Positive Difference. Mark’s dynamic new leadership…
What if . . . ? These two powerful words usually conjure up the results of past decisions—how things might have been different and better if only . . . But they are equally powerful when applied to the future. We can’t change the past. But the future? That’s a totally different story. What if…
Recently I received a discouraging email from an individual in a government organization who is battling terrible working conditions and well-intentioned by seriously flawed government regulations. This person had found value in one of my books and was looking for encouragement. She thought if I could speak to her and her team, it might help.…