Curiosity: One of the attributes of strong leaders is curiosity. But curiosity takes much work. And brain work takes energy—science tells us that the human brain consumes about 20% of our total body energy budget. That’s why another common trait for solid leaders is keeping themselves in good physical condition. They pay attention to their mental and physical health through …
It’s More Than Data: If we take the time and make an effort, we can find the stories hiding in our data. I began thinking about this when a friend presented me with some demographic data for our state (California). The data showed that there was negative population growth for the first time in many years.
There Should Be No Gap: During a recent discussion on our economy, a friend said to me, “In fact, we are not manufacturing much in the U.S.” He wasn’t referring to the pandemic slowdown or the 2009 recession. He was trying to make the case that the U.S. has shipped manufacturing offshore, and we don’t make many products here now. …
Investigate: Being skeptical of assertions made by others has served me well a majority of the time. I do my best to be polite, find out the knowledge base the person or group has, the credentials they possess in the way of expertise and then decide if I need to investigate further or if I can take them at their …
Not Just Google: Some business leaders have watched with a mix of envy and consternation as the technology firms, and large retailers, have taken advantage of big data. Until now, smaller firms have not been able to afford significant data science operations. However, predictions are that this year and next will be the year when Small to Mid-sized Enterprises (SMEs) …
Following Lewis: There are a couple of authors who I like to “follow.” By that I mean, I usually get any new book they publish. Michael Lewis is one of those authors. It all started with Moneyball, even though I’m a dyed-in-the-wool NON sports fan. And so The Undoing Project was a must on my reading list. As is almost …
Use By: We’re all used to our perishable food coming with an expiry date. They take various forms such as: Sell by mm/dd/yyyy or Best if used by mm/dd/yyyy. And sometimes, they don’t say much of anything. There’s just a date and maybe some undecipherable lot code. It’s up to us to guess if the date is the expiration date. …
The Test: My wife does a fair amount of baking. I noticed that when she is baking a cake or bread, she will sometimes stick a sharp knife (like a paring knife) or a toothpick into the cake when the timer indicates that the cake is supposed to be “done.” Sometimes, after doing this, she takes the cake out to …
Signals Everywhere No matter where I go, I leave a digital trail. In my office, I am pretty much connected to the internet 12 hours a day. My ISP knows what web sites I go to (except when I fire up my VPN). And of course each website I visit tracks what I look for there. Google logs all my …
The Silly Season: A great deal of the continuing education I embark on for coaching certification involves understanding how the human brain works. It’s a moving target these days. Things change as we learn more about how the methods we use can be misinterpreted, how incredibly complex the human brain is and how reality is not truly available to us. …