Hierarchical leadership is a permission machine. The machine is primed to respond with "No". People's work becomes figuring out how to override the default response ... moving the machine to "Yes". And then doing it again. And again. Working with the mysterious machine to get permission to move things forward. Managers might exist simply to push at the levers ... trying for the right combination to produce a "Yes". Other managers might exist simply to increase the volume … [Read more...]
What Could You Achieve With Crushing Authority?
April 25, 2013 by
Rob started telling me about the cool stuff he was producing at work. His team is building things that would cost millions to buy. I was impressed with what his team accomplished. I asked him his secret. His team saw problems. They created solutions. Rob's job was easy. Just say "Yes." No one told them to do it. They just did it. Rob let them. More than that... he encouraged them. Rob didn't try to manage his people (or their tasks). He led his people and their … [Read more...]
Are you getting caught in the idea trap?
May 25, 2012 by
I remember stepping on the Lego piece with my bare foot. I screamed, cursing. A cubic, sharp pebble cutting into my foot. It hurt! Yesterday, I talked about how building ideas is like playing with Legos. "The ideas are the blocks. Putting them together is the execution." If you're an "idea guy" (or gal), like me, you have a bunch of blocks. They're everywhere! You're tripping on them, stepping on them, staring at them. Are you putting them together? Are you addicted … [Read more...]
Are you playing with Legos or with Jenga?
May 24, 2012 by
Building ideas is like playing with Legos. It's not like playing Jenga. Your ideas are the blocks. Putting them together is the execution. The nice thing about Legos ... You can build one thing, take it apart and build something completely different. You have the flexibility to innovate and pivot. You can go back and then forward again. Put your ideas into action. If it's not right, take them apart and put them together differently. Building ideas is not about keeping … [Read more...]
The biggest secret to time management
March 19, 2012 by
A few months ago, I tried to fit left over soup in a container. Jen told me that it wouldn't fit. I insisted it would. I cleaned up soup that overflowed from the counter. She gave me "that look." Once again, I had tried to fit too much in the container. Time Management is a multi-million industry. People spend more time learning how manage time than they spend practicing how to manage themselves. Time is a fixed container. It is out of your control. You can't slow … [Read more...]
One question to get the most use from your stress
February 15, 2012 by
Studies show that bad stress causes harmful reactions in us. It literally kills us slowly. A key distinction between good stress (Eustress) and bad stress (distress) is whether we see ourselves as capable of exerting ourselves on our situation to affect it. When we focus on what can't do, we create bad stress and get stuck. When we focus on what we can do, we create new options through or around our challenges. We look at what we can control. We cultivate good stress. … [Read more...]
Two Simple Steps to Move Closer to your goals
February 12, 2012 by
An object that's a rest tends to stay at rest. An object in motion will continue along the same course unless another force redirects it. It's a law of physics. It's also a law of life. Change your words, change your mind I've been at rest for several months. I've talked about how I need to exercise. And I need to write. I haven't done either. I realized last night that I was speaking in 'Need to'. I immediately changed my language. I moved to 'want to'. We put the … [Read more...]
Paint yourself into a corner
October 13, 2011 by
Sam has a really cool product. He plans on selling it via the Internet. He has one big problem. He keeps pushing his launch date. The Internet is virtual. As much as we want it to be real, it is not. We can't touch it. We can't feel it. We can't walk inside it's doors. The virtuality of the Internet (and other technology related products) poses a problem. Our brains don't respond to problems that they believe are imaginary. This is why arbitrary deadlines can blow up in our faces. … [Read more...]
How to stop finishing last
August 18, 2011 by
Nice is a four letter word. When someone tells me I'm nice, I'm doing something wrong. I'm not saying something that needs to be said. Or I'm being a door mat and getting walked on. I don't want to be a nice guy. I'd rather be a good guy. Nice is not a saving grace. Good is. People seen as highly disagreeable make nearly $10,000 more per year than those seen as highly agreeable. Does that mean you need to become an ass to make more money? No. It means you need to start adding … [Read more...]
Here’s A High Value Proposition
July 25, 2011 by
Thirty years ago we had 1 hour of national news a day. We had 3 stations to choose from. We watched either Cronkite, Chancellor or Reasoner at 7pm (East Coast) on ABC, CBS, or NBC. If you watched TV at 7pm, you were probably watching the news. Nothing else was on. There was competition between the national news organizations at 7pm. There weren't many outside competitive threats because the choice was news or news. The competition that existed drove up quality. The news outlets … [Read more...]
