Category Archives: Lead With Excellence

For the third time in the last three years, a client to whom I consulted a few years back e-mailed me this morning to tell me she had sold her business, for a price she had never dreamed possible.  All …

I once knew a Fortune 500 CEO who completed hundred-million-dollar deals without signing a contract, because, he told me, “If trust breaks down to the point where we have to rely on the fine print to enforce the agreement, then …

I continue to be struck by the lack of resolve and urgency at so many companies to eliminate all wasteful activities and expenditures.  The world economy has been stalled for years, and there are few indications that it will become …

The stereotype we often have of great leadership is of the brilliant and glib charmer whom people can’t resist following.  Those pied pipers do come along from time to time, but they’re rare, and even when they do show up …

Nothing makes a leader look smaller than an unwillingness to admit when he or she is wrong.  I learned early in my career that when you acknowledge a lapse in judgment, apologize for it, and then move ahead with strength, …

When leaders fail to communicate it’s usually because they have a political agenda which is at odds with what’s best for the company.  If they thought their argument could carry the day on the merits, they’d communicate directly, loudly and …

Milton Friedman once quipped, “There is nothing more permanent than a temporary government program.” I’m sure you all want to run your companies more efficiently than the government.  How many positions, programs, and processes at your company were cost-justified when …

You may not be part of the demographic that flocked to The Avengers, but two different groups of my children took me to see it.  While I don’t share their fascination with super-heroes, I not only enjoyed the movie but …

Too often, business plans assume that success will be achieved when you catch up to or surpass where your competitors are today.  Their authors forget that while you’re making improvements your competitors are advancing too. In fact, it’s just possible …

When you’re interviewing for a key position at your company, you’ll obviously check for relevant expertise, attitude, and any number of other things.  Yet you may neglect the most important question of all:  What makes them tick? People do what …