Leading Yourself in 2023 ABC Goal Setting

The turning of the year is a human construct, but we still imbue it with all kinds of meaning. I don’t go in much for resolutions, and the statistics about people actually keeping those resolutions (Save more! Eat healthy! Call my mom!) is kind of laughable. Still, to the extent that the new year helps…

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A Vision for West Michigan Leaders in the West Coast Way

Writing for the West Coast Way, Rodger Price laid out the three biggest opportunities before West Michigan leaders if we are to make our area the hotbed of the nation’s best leaders: become a person worth following, build a great team, and get clarity about why an organization exists, where it’s going, and how it will behave.

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‘You’re getting warmer’ isn’t good executive leadership

Are you unintentionally playing a game of “You’re getting warmer, you’re getting colder” as a leader? That’s the question Rodger Price explores in a recent article for the Grand Rapids Business Journal, and as he shares, it happens most often when leaders don’t do the essential (and hard) work of getting clarity about their vision, and communicating their vision thoroughly and frequently.

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You’re Getting Warmer

I recently talked with a client about his frustration with his boss, who he really admires. When I heard what he described and realized that his frustration stemmed from lack of vision, I shared my belief that most leaders are unintentionally playing a game of “you’re getting warmer, you’re getting colder” when it comes to…

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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 was planning…

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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 know what’s next—but want to know—we have that…

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Update on Leading by DESIGN and LEAD 365

We’ve had an exciting year, and this seems like a good time to update all of you LEAD 365 alumni on how our purpose and vision is progressing. I’m guessing that most of you remember our purpose/mission (the reason Leading by DESIGN exists), which is to make West Michigan the Silicon Valley of leadership. Our…

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Guest Post: Let Them See

Today’s post is written by a LEAD 365 alumnus, Ken Horner, VP of Quality for Gentex Corporation. Ken was part of a LEAD 365 cohort that wrapped up in February 2016. This is Ken’s second time as a guest blogger. His first post, Making Great Choices, was published in July 2016. Last week Rodger blogged about what…

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The Five Whys of Purpose

(This post is written for alumni of LEAD 365, although all are welcome to read it.) More and more leaders are writing and talking about the importance of purpose for their organizations. Simon Sinek started some of the renewed interest in getting clear about your organization’s purpose—or reason for existing—with his TED Talk describing the…

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