Recently I was in a discussion with a contractor about rain gutters for my home. I had a lot of questions about moving water systematically away from the house, and ideally, into the yard. The conversation was empowering, and I made the decision to hire this company on the spot. It was my second conversation [...]
I live in San Diego. How lucky am I? We claim some of the best weather you might find and beautiful beaches and an amazing zoo to boot. What we don’t have much of is water. We have lived in drought conditions for at least a decade (likely more than two) and savor our rainy [...]
Welcome to the new year! Did you create a new strategic plan last fall, or are you in the middle of a multi-year plan? Either way, how do you create and sustain the energy to move the plan throughout the year? Start with bringing the plan into action. What steps (aka goals) can be [...]
If you are anything like me, the Golden Rule was introduced as a way to navigate the world. For many people it is a guiding principle to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Many customer service pillars are built on this, as well as leadership styles. I think that’s all [...]
The speed of business is fast. Really fast. And, it’s getting faster all the time. Collaboration has been reduced to meetings, which aren’t all that productive. Advancing initiatives means sending emails after hours, and accomplishing tasks means passing them on to someone else. Sound like you? The real trouble begins when your leadership skills are [...]
I'm writing this as I leave the company of a referral network of worldwide lawyers. I've spoken to these types of organizations before, and this one is much more international than the others. I'm in a foreign country for their annual meeting, and I'm struck by the privileges I have as an American. All of the [...]
Our recent Leaders’ Lab conversation was focused on leading up. How do we influence our “bosses”? Let’s start by defining ‘leading up’ to be influencing a person with power or authority for the mutually beneficial result, for the greater good. That opens the definition up beyond boss – to include leading those around you that [...]
I just survived my first hotel strike. That's not saying much, except after 600 nights of hotel time in the last decade, I've never stayed in one that had a strike. And by survived I'm stretching it! Certainly I had food and water, and the survival necessities. I didn't have the usual perks and amenities [...]
This is the season of long range planning, of budgeting and forecasting, and planning for 2019 both personally and in our organizations. If you are embarking on this path for the first time you likely have more than enough information to overwhelm your process, and your discussions. If you’ve ‘been around the block’ you might [...]
I'm feeling stuck. Stuck in the current of this river which is bent and turning as we pick sides. We move through time and space with focused attention on our lives, and separating ourselves more and more each day with the polarizing conversations happening around us. I hear a lot of four letter words being [...]
