[October 12, 2013] It is certainly no surprise that we Americans today are not happy with our federal government. Our dissatisfaction has reached a record-breaking low point. Consider how dissatisfied we are in the following sampling of survey results: 18% are satisfied with the way the nation is being governed1 60% say fire every single member of Congress2 … Read More »
[October 11, 2013] To discuss core values, the Boy Scouts of American (BSA) is a classic. The BSA is universally seen as an organization that instills moral character into young boys. The cause is noble and it has been successful beyond what people thought possible. The BSA was inspired by and modeled on the Boy Scout Association, established… Read More »
[October 10, 2013] Senior executive leaders need to possess not just more experience and focus, but they must also be capable of exceptional performance. This performance should be an order of magnitude better than average. When I was a new second lieutenant at the Infantry Officer Basic Course in Fort Benning, Georgia, my class of 300 officers were… Read More »
[October 9, 2013] Understanding the psychology of human beings; what motivates us and focuses our employee talent is something every senior executive leader wants. From the beginning of the human race in the most primitive settings to our modern world, a good story is something we all can relate to and remember. Thus, the use of storytelling1 in… Read More »
[October 8, 2013] Yesterday I was fortunate enough to visit the corporate offices and museum of Hillerich & Bradsby Company who make the Louisville Slugger1 baseball bat in Louisville, Kentucky. For the baseball enthusiasts out there, you can understand the thrill of visiting here. But this is really a story about a family that through determination, hard work,… Read More »
[October 6, 2013] George Washington came forward as the most significant leader in the founding of the United States of America and became known as the Father of the Country. To select George Washington as an important senior leader for this profile was important. I wanted to select Abraham Lincoln originally but eventually decided to go with Washington… Read More »
[October 5, 2013] The photograph accompanying this article is famous in many respects. It is a photo taken June 6, 1944 of the Omaha Beach landing during World War II. It is used to symbolically represent courage. More accurately it is symbolic of physical courage. Moral courage, on the other hand, is more difficult to show symbolically and… Read More »
[October 3, 2013] For any leader, one of their most important tasks is to give inspiration to people in the organization to carry out the mission. The most talented leader not only provides employee enthusiasm but also provides the motivation for their boss(es), peers, and customers. This is what we mean when we say a leader provides motivation1.… Read More »
[October 2, 2013] In Part 1 of this blog on “Leading Transitions”, we saw that the way to ensure a smooth change and reduce the risk involved, is to learn from others’ mistakes. Part 2 of this blog will go into more detail about the lessons learned. With a weakened and changing economy (e.g., technological advances), it is… Read More »
[October 1, 2013] Senior executive leadership displays itself in many ways. And so does success. Today I’m using the Marriott hotel chain to discuss senior leadership values (see disclaimer below). I do have considerable user-level experience with a variety of hotels across the world as part of my job. On average, I spend 100 days in hotels annually. … Read More »