Stop Optimizing and Solve Problems
To gain the right problem solving behaviors, we need to stop optimizing. Our organizational culture requires a shift from optimizing to solving.
How Writing Just Might Save My Life
I think social media is trying to kill me. And it’s working with an accomplice, the current state of the world. I suspect I’m not alone in this paranoid delusion. I know that I can’t be the only person whose feeds have slowly morphed from a land of vacation pictures, inspirational quotes, and sales pitches…
The Need for a Culture of Belonging
Belonging is an essential human expectation. More than an expectation, belonging is community. We need to develop a culture of belonging.
We Are in a Trust Depression
Are you ready to create a trust recovery? Are you ready to be a Trust Activist?
Less Talk, More Action: Where Do You Fall?
Pick a social channel and individuals are offering advice and commentary. Within the mix is humor, seriousness, and heartfelt life events. Turn on a cable news channel, and more talk happens. Some give the blazing glimpse of the obvious while others fill time with frivolity. More than ever, there is a lot of talking…
Why Is Peace So Hard in Our Weekly Work?
Cheer is out this year, and peace is in. With our season preparation, more people are choosing the word “peace” in their holiday cards than “cheer.” According to Minted, a San Francisco-based company that sells paper cards online, orders for cards with “peace” in the message rose 14 percent. “Previous to this year, I couldn’t…
University to Corporation: Does It Need to Be One Way?
Alphabet just hired a computer scientist from Stanford University. Fei-Fei Li is more than a respected scientist; she also is the director of Stanford University’s artificial intelligence lab. No longer. From university to corporation, academic talent is being hired by different corporations. A recent Wall Street Journal article entitled “Tech Companies Tap New Talent From…
Proper Conditions: Preparing for the Unprepared
Prepare is a verb, an act of getting ready. Preparing leads to a plan, and it converts actions to a noun, a document with next steps and responsibilities. In both cases, when an unprepared scenario happens, the verb and noun become nearly useless. The election results did not turn out as many pundits expected. Along…
4 Ways to Foster Innovation in Your Company Culture
Guest Post by James Pointon Innovation is something that is absolutely necessary for continued success. Even if you are at the top of your field, resting on your laurels and sticking with the same old routines will only succeed in leaving you behind at the bottom of the pack. But it’s not easy to innovate,…
3 Ways to Honor Your Organization’s Past
HGTV’s House Hunters is television comfort food. The formula is always the same, which is strangely soothing. An individual or a couple looks for a home, they have a budget (and expectations for that home that far exceed that budget), are presented three choices of residences, and come to a happy ending. The only variable…
Leadership Strangers: Authority and Accountability
A project or initiative begins. Do we have the authority to lead? An initiative deviates. Do we have accountability in results? Authority and accountability are necessary companions, yet they often are strangers. An imbalance of authority and accountability creates challenges for an organization and a leader. When lopsided, frustration rises. Imagine being given new leadership…
Millennials, Gallup, Football, Leadership: A Common Thread
Gallup released a new research study on Millennials. No real surprises in the summary report, but there are some areas of commonality between generations along with some work to be done. While this report was on my mind, I came across an article about the new football coach at Rutgers. The headline stated: “Rutgers coaches…