Speaking of Leadership^® Blog

Reading Time: < 1 minuteStrategic intent is key to the success of any business.   A great (and cautionary) literary exposition of this is Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick.”  In this timeless classic, the CEO  (Captain Ahab) clearly had the requisite strategic intent to succeed;  but in the end failed utterly not only in his quest

Reading Time: < 1 minuteMalcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers”  posits that Bill Gates, the Beatles and other very successful persons attained that status by adhering to the “10,000 Hour Rule” of committing at least that much time to honing their skills.   This brief but important article from the Smithsonian takes issue with Gladwell’s claim and holds that

Reading Time: < 1 minuteMost C-level executives find themselves besieged by those with a vested interest in changing things.  Often consultants, new hires, academics and others often seem to be proposing change for change’s sake before looking at the reason why existing processes, institutions, traditions and protocols came to be in the first place.

Reading Time: < 1 minuteWe know Warren Buffet can pick stocks…but how does he pick the  people who help him make the picks?  Buffett is well known for doing his homework on stocks with a focused, disciplined approach on getting the right data.  He does the same when he hires; focusing on intelligence, energy and integrity.

Reading Time: < 1 minuteJohn D. Rockefeller once remarked that “The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun” .   Dr. Robert Cialdini only asks 12 minutes of your time to give you

Reading Time: < 1 minuteTechnology has always changed the nature of employment, but it’s never eliminated it…until now, perhaps.  In a brief article a venture capitalist recounts a conversation with futurist Ray Kurzweil that predicts a coming world of abundance with little work required.  Take a minute to find out  why  “We’re Heading into

Reading Time: < 1 minuteBeing a C-level executive requires having a point of view about the future. Do you know how to acquire one?  Technology futurist Daniel Burrus has a suggestion that may help you with your primary job and get your team to help you do it.   Specifically, Burrus says you have to build a

Reading Time: 3 minutesPutting your storyboard together is one of the most important activities of preparing to give a presentation. Each storyboard should contain the following elements. Opening Main Points Supporting Points Details – For Clarity Closing I’m often amazed when I see corporate business plan presentations. They look like the preparer took

Reading Time: < 1 minuteSpring Training is well under way and along with it no lack of metaphors about baseball and business. Here’s one from Jeff Weiner, the CEO of LinkedIn, one of the most successful technology companies of the past decade. When asked what has been the most valuable lesson he’s learned as

Reading Time: 2 minutesAs team leaders, we evaluate our team members and expect them to do the job up to our standards. Sometimes our standards are out of sync with their ability or training. After all, these individuals have not traveled in the same shoes as we have and may not have the