My Advice To Ray LaHood -- Sleep On It! Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is only doing his
job. When all the talk in Washington is about slashing the deficit, he assures
taxpayers that under his watch air traffic controllers will be allowed to sleep
on the job. This presumably will ensure that taxpayer dollars are not being
wasted.
Updated Wed Apr 20, 2011
What Pat Williams Teaches Us About Coach John Wooden and Life One of the things leaders come to understand soon enough is
that being is charge is tough work.
Getting people to pull together for common cause is not for
the faint hearted. It requires a sense of the big picture as well as an
attention to detail and in between you may need to play alternating roles of
cajoler as well as challenger, all the while making certain you set the right
example.
Two leaders I know exemplify what it means to walk that
talk.
Updated Wed Apr 6, 2011
Some Coaches Look the Other Way When It Comes to Character Few things can top the exuberance of the annual NCAA basketball tournament. Unfortunately the other side of the bracket features two schools helmed by coaches who know what it means to cross the line, as in breaking the rules.
Updated Wed Mar 30, 2011
What to Do When Your Team Fails When you suffer a defeat, the tendency to want to withdraw is powerful. That is especially true when the setback occurs in public. The only trouble is that if you are a manager, the last thing you can do is withdraw. You have other responsibilities.
Updated Thu Mar 24, 2011
What You Can Learn When an Organization Falls Apart It is not often that you see an organization come apart at the seams on television. But that is exactly what happened in February when the head coach of the Detroit Pistons got thrown out of a game and the players on the bench laughed.
Updated Wed Mar 16, 2011
A Matter of Character Football coaches say that the game builds character. But character isn't something that you learn just from playing; it comes from learning right from wrong, too. This came to mind as I watched Jim Tressel, the Ohio State football coach, explain why last April he hadn't reported possible NCAA violations to the university.
Updated Wed Mar 9, 2011
Make Your Workplace Someplace You Would Want to Visit As consultant I am privileged to visit a number of work environments. How a facility looks says a great deal about how employees feel about it. A disconnect between message and environment is not comforting.
Updated Wed Mar 2, 2011
Leaders Do Not Run and Hide Leadership is rooted in the virtues of truth, integrity, and honesty. But this is not enough. Leaders also must exert a modicum of common sense. Just because you don't like something does not give you the right to abandon your post.
Updated Thu Feb 24, 2011
Ronald Reagan's Secret to Great Leadership As we mark the occasion of Ronald Reagan's centenary it is important to remember what he taught us about what it means to lead.
Updated Wed Feb 9, 2011
Staging a Great Meeting As the economy shows distinct signs of recovery, companies are making a more conscious effort to communicate with stakeholders and as a result many are actively planning their annual meetings. These meetings are terrific opportunities to fire up the faithful--those who have a stake in your future.
Updated Thu Feb 3, 2011
When to Say I Quit! We are in love with the image of an athlete who guides his team to victory against bigger, faster, and more skilled opponents. This hero story took a hit when Jay Cutler, quarterback of the Chicago Bears, allowed himself to be taken out of the NFC championship game.
Updated Tue Jan 25, 2011
What Apple Can Learn From Walt Disney No one knows how long Steve Jobs will be absent from the helm of Apple. The challenge for Apple one day--hopefully decades from now--is to find a new CEO. Steve Jobs is irreplaceable, as was another innovator-entrepreneur, Walt Disney.
Updated Tue Jan 18, 2011
Don't Let Hysteria Get in the Way of Deliberation Some decisions take more deliberation than others.
That thought comes to mind when looking at how athletic
director David Brandon made his decision to terminate Rich Rodriguez as the head
coach at the University of Michigan.
Updated Fri Jan 7, 2011
The Season to Share Stories This year the stories that resonate with me are instructive. After two years of a brutal recession stories of people who did all things in moderation find themselves out of work, out of houses, and in some cases out of luck. Yet what I have heard over and over again is not despair but resilience.
Updated Thu Dec 23, 2010
Start the New Year Off Right: Break Old Habits Breaking old habits means letting go of old ways of thinking. Recessions are a good time to re-think how you do business and what behaviors need to change in order to succeed.
Updated Wed Dec 15, 2010
Five Ways to Influence People Who Do Not Report to You Maybe the toughest thing in management to do is persuade
others to go along with you when you have no authority over them.
Updated Fri Dec 10, 2010
What If Someone "WikiLeaked" You? Angela Merkel is unimaginative. Nicolas Sarkozy is an "emperor with no clothes." The Saudis want the U.S. to "cut off the head of the
snake" (Iran). And the Chinese view North Korea as a "spoiled child."
Wed Dec 1, 2010
Teach for America's Lesson Plan for Leadership Teach for America looks for men and women who show "evidence" of such things as: achievement, perseverance, critical thinking, organizational skills, respect for others, interpersonal skills, and a "desire to work relentlessly in pursuit of our vision."
Wed Nov 17, 2010
How to Say No to Your Boss No is not always a negative. While managers are not advised to make saying no to their superiors, sometimes they need to do so.
Wed Nov 10, 2010
Heads Up! Your Co-worker May Be Out to Get You According to America Workplace Insights produced by the recruitment firm Adecco, the workplace is being riled by internecine battles, the nasty kind that lessen productivity and ruin reputations.
Tue Nov 2, 2010
