What I Want
Previous Next I have somehow developed this weird thing. I am comfortable being uncomfortable. I put myself in so many situations and experiences that are just terrible, but I just keep doing it. I am naturally a very shy person. So, I forced myself to do public speaking until it was something I was comfortable […]
Details Matter
Previous Next Details matter. Our indifference or ineptitude to details can have catastrophic consequences. Famously, the band Van Halen had a strange little clause hidden in their contracts with venues. They had a very long contract that detailed how the building was to be set up, how the rigging would be fastened, how the backstage […]
Change is Good
Previous Next We often harshly judge the second version of something: the movie that comes out after a good book, a son that follows his father in business, or a musician that covers a famous song. There is so much more joy in life found in judging something on its own merit instead of using […]
Business
Previous Next It’s easy to make business more complicated that it needs to be. As we add employees, services, markets, and all sorts of other aspects to business we tend to make it more and more complicated. I often remind myself of an old principle, Occam’s Razor: all things being equal, the simplest answer is […]
Believing in your Team
Previous Next Leaders will often look and see the flaws within their team and decide that is going to keep them from success. But when we believe in the team we have and lead them well, great things happen. Only seeing their flaws and shortcomings will hold the leader back as much as it holds […]
Breaking a Horse
Previous Next My father loved riding horses. He raised countless horses throughout my childhood. He was hired to break dozens of horses – maybe more – throughout his life. To my knowledge he broke every single horse to ride. Except one. Galahad. Galahad was a huge animal. He was feisty and mean. He kicked and […]
Ask for Help
Previous Next In western culture we tend to be really bad at asking for help. We see it as a sign of weakness. This kind of hubris holds an organization back. My favorite book I’ve read so far this year is The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse. It’s a children’s book but […]
Action
Previous Next We are told in many ways to “quit talking and get to work”. Obviously, Walt Disney felt like action was important and talking can delay that action. Communication and discussion have their place, but he is definitely right about getting to the action part of things. One of my favorite quotes on this […]
Abundance
Previous Next We desire the simple. We crave the easy. But all good things come with hard work. The old Jewish proverb implies to have good crops we are going to have to shovel out the manure in the manger that the oxen create. And we should be happy to have the manure to shovel. […]
Expectations
Previous Next A foundation of relationships – albeit personal, professional, close, acquaintance or whatever – is understanding each other’s expectations. In business this is particularly important. Especially in the work relationships we have with co-workers, employees, and bosses. As leaders we have the responsibility to set expectations. The foundation for clear expectations is simple to […]