Days of Disruption (No. 10):America’s Retailer – Sears
Reading Time: < 1 minute Sears has been struggling for many years but the speculation of the past few days that it may bypass Chapter 11 reorganization entirely and proceed to Chapter 7 Liquidation indicates just how hopeless many of its lenders believe the company’s situation has become. This article from Business Insider tells in a
Rookie Leader Mistakes
Reading Time: < 1 minute We all make mistakes when undertaking a new activity and first-time leaders are no exception. Two former Navy Seal Commanders believe that new leaders always make the same two mistakes. This short article from Business Insider will tell you what they are. See also the video link at the end of the article
A Larger Ambition
Reading Time: < 1 minute John Henry Newman once remarked that “history offers lessons, not rules.” Imitating the path of one successful person is tempting because it’s easy, but is rarely the formula for success; we have to learn from many leaders with different stories in order to extract applicable principles as to what leadership really is. Presidential
“Radically Traditional” (or how your company can endure for 100 years)
Reading Time: < 1 minute Speaking of disruption…..most family businesses vanish by the third generation; public companies typically disappear in even less time. But a few, both for profit and not, somehow persist for a century or more. One key according to research on this phenomenon is finding a way to be “radically traditional.” Find out what the
A Pocketful of Mentors
Reading Time: < 1 minute Motivational speaker Jim Rohn famously remarked that “you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” ( Or, alternatively, as James Michener wrote, “Bad companions bring bad luck”) The question is: who should these five people be? One answer, and maybe the best one, is “mentors.” Clearly, having
Leader, Scale Thyself
Reading Time: < 1 minute The most important person you ever manage is yourself. Every person’s time talent and energy is finite, so your career advancement involves making choices about your behavior that provide the choices you want. To wit: Facebook COO Cheryl Sandberg offers some advice in a very short article about whether you are
Not So Rich, Not So Famous
Reading Time: < 1 minute Gold Rushes occur throughout history. In 1849, thousands made a mad dash to California when gold was found at Sutter’s Mill. Most returned home even poorer than they arrived. In the mid-1800s, the railroad boom made a few rich but destroyed many more. Remember the late 1990’s and the Internet bubble?
Leadership In Eight Easy Lessons
Reading Time: < 1 minute Tomes have been written about leadership, but maybe pictures may help provide some additional understanding and insight regarding the most important trait of every CEO: Leadership Check out these compelling graphics regarding the essentials of leadership. If a picture is worth a thousand words, these eight counterintuitive graphics will give you much to
Sauerkraut Leadership
Reading Time: < 1 minute In the late 1700s, Captain James Cook made history by being the first European to discover Hawaii, circumnavigating the globe in the process. During these long sea voyages, a disease created by lack of Vitamin C known as scurvy was very common among the crews and very difficult to treat
The “Dottie Test”
Reading Time: < 1 minute As organizations grow and C-Level executives become busier they often lose sight of the team members who occupy the lower rungs of an ever-growing org chart. Charles Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger shared a valuable lesson in a NY Times Interview which taught him “you should never lose sight of people who