Seeing Beyond Tough Times
It’s time to share some insights that I’ve gained over the past eight months—the most challenging and interesting months in my career. I wish I had understood these insights better back in March or April when I could have shared them and helped others. But at that...
How To Help Your Organization Be an IFZ
Change is hard. Innovation requires change, but change is scary. So I feel I can serve you best today by giving you a few suggestions to make sure your organization can stop innovation in its tracks. What are some easy ways you can head innovation off at the pass to...
Are You a DHB?
Two years ago I attended a doctoral commencement as a guest of a graduate. It's a great accomplishment to gain a doctorate. It represents a lot of work, and it usually represents a lot of potential for impact. And yes, you get certain letters and titles before or...
Stampeding Elephants
(A version of this post was originally published here on February 12, 2018.) Imagine that you're walking along a path outside. As you round a bend, you see an elephant. Before you have a chance to think, his ears go up, his head drops, and he starts to charge straight...
Vulnerability and Courage
(A version of this post was originally published here on January 29, 2018.) I’m no psychiatrist but I’ve always been intrigued by the things people do and why they do them. Out of this curiosity, and over many years of observations, I’ve come to my own theories, and...
The Four Quadrants of Public Speaking
When we think about public speaking, most of us tend to think of standing and speaking to other people while being physically in the same space, or maybe talking at or with just one or two other people we know, again, in person. Here’s the reality: Being physically...
Some Vision Is Better Than None
When I made the jump in 2019 from employee with a side hustle in communications to full-time freelancer, I thought that I had made “The Big Decision.” I would work for myself, and that was a huge leap. Then, as my portfolio began to grow, I was asked by a client if I...
How I Stopped Multitasking and Started Getting Stuff Done
(A version of this post was first published here on March 13, 2016.) Have you seen the Pixar film Up? You know, the one about the old man (Carl) who inflates thousands of balloons to fly his house to the jungle, and accidentally gives a ride to an eager young...
Pandemic Projection
Dave and I were teaching a cohort in person a few weeks ago, after months of teaching LEAD 24/7 over webinars. We were both happy to be back with people. I was overly excited to be face-to-face again, and I knew I’d have to work to stay focused on our material and not...
Leading Change Reprised
Suspense. Is it a bad thing or a good thing? Some people won’t watch a suspenseful movie or read a suspenseful book. Others won't read or watch unless there IS suspense. Suspense is that sense of fear and excitement we feel when something is unknown. When we don’t...