I’m just back from the fun city of Nashville, TN. I was there to attend a leadership conference, and boy, was it worth my time. The organizers treated us to great keynote speakers and many engaging breakout sessions. I am all about continuous learning, so this annual conference fits my bill. It was three days of learning from experts as …
This Is Just a Test: In a panel conversation this week, one of the panelists noted that a lot of companies, who thought they have solid emergency plans, discovered that they did not. That’s the bad news. Of course, the good news is that for many, the pandemic is a reasonably straightforward way to test our systems without real structural …
Lack of Clarity: There are several posts on this blog that relate some thoughts I have about complexity and how our businesses are affected by the external forces in a global market. What I’m thinking about this time, however, is the opportunity we can find in that complexity. Starting close to home, we are finding our workforce is multigenerational and …
An Educator: One of the topics I tend to worry about is education. I worry about it because our country is being very slow to change the way we educate our young people. We are not preparing them for the future. I’ve become a bit of an evangelist for this concern. Moreover, to educate myself on the topic, I’ve read …
Aware Then Unaware: Years ago, when I was studying martial arts, I became aware of a learning model. I’m pretty sure many, perhaps most, of you are also aware of that model. It goes like this: In the beginning, you aren’t aware of how difficult a task might be. In the Dojo, the Sensei makes things look easy. But then, …
Sustainable Advantage: I don’t know how we can claim we have a sustainable competitive advantage unless, that is, that we believe that advantage to be our ability to learn faster than the competition. Technology is moving much too fast for us to think that some sort of product or service is really our competitive advantage. But continuous learning, a willingness …
Embrace Doubt: Often, I will start out with a new client, project or endeavor with a considerable amount of conscious doubt. What makes me think I can do this? What makes me think I will be the best coach for this person? When will they find out I’m really an impostor? Frankly I can’t think of a time when I …
Catch 22? Have you noticed that many job postings lay out a list of skills and also require, say, five years of industry experience? Ever wonder how the heck a college graduate manages to get hired? Do you assume they worked their way through school? Or perhaps you look for a valuable and long internship program that provided relevant experience? So …
As “They” Say . . . gets the worm. AND, the Early Worm Gets Eaten. The worm that sleeps in survives. But if too many worms sleep in, the Bird will go hungry — or learn to sleep in as well! What got me thinking about all this stuff was one of my favorite podcasts, Freakonomics, which did a two-part …
Out of the Mouths of Babes Kids can teach us many things. I know mine have — and not just after they became adults. They taught me about being open, no preconceived notions; I wish they were close by to keep reminding me of that lesson. They taught me about tough-love, being consistent, and how loving someone as much as we loved …