Far too many businesses don’t realize they need to change things up until they are already in decline. It may seem counterintuitive, but when your business has seen multiple years of double-digit growth and has hit record revenue and profits—that is the best time to begin thinking about the next big breakthrough.(more…)
When you hire a carpenter to build a deck, what questions do you ask? Do you ask to see his saw and hammer? Or do you ask to see other decks he has built? The tools may be important, but precisely which hammer he uses probably matters less to you than the quality of the finished product and whether it meets or even surpasses your expectations. (more…)
On the fields and beaches of Spain, I learned a simple but important lesson that applies to us as leaders, our teams and our organizations. Keep forward motion. If we follow that principle, we can accomplish much.(more…)
Power comes from a source. When we hear the word horsepower, most people think of engines. I do, too, just of a different variety. Horses’ hindquarters are their engine.(more…)
Let’s consider two strong brands, Under Armour and Twitter. They both want business growth. One is going about it the right way, and one is heading for trouble. Do you know which is which? Here are a few clues: (more…)
I am an avid reader. I love to learn. Chances are you do, too. I think everyone in our tribe would call themselves a lifelong learner with perhaps more than a little pride. It wasn’t until I started writing the introduction to my book and examining my hopes for the reader that I realized that the goal is not the learning—it is in the doing of what you learned. (more…)
I spent the day working on a five-year strategic plan with a board of directors. The board is comprised of C-suite executives from Fortune 1000 companies—knowledgeable, experienced and smart. So why hadn’t they previously asked the tough questions about the organization’s future? Like, how do you define success? Or are new trends something we embrace, ignore or push back on? (more…)