Archive for 2008
What Does Your Next Step Forward Look Like?
Cyclers & Resolvers
There are two types of people that I have seen over and over again in my practice during the past 20+ years: Cyclers & Resolvers. Cyclers move through life repeating the same behaviors and experiencing the same outcomes month after month, year after year. They avoid ownership of their experiences and blame externals for the negative outcomes in their lives. Resolvers on the other hand take ownership of their experiences and the related feelings, thoughts and behaviors. They don’t settle for the same results they have always gotten.
Born. Grow. Mature. Decline. Die?
The why of change
Change is a part of life. Some embrace it. Some resist it. Some love it. Some hate it. Some would rather die than change. But regardless of your disposition toward change one thing is certain: change happens.
The Sigmoid Growth Curve
There is a natural cycle to every organism, organization, civilization, relationship, and individual. It is predictable, natural, obvious (when you actually look at it), and important to our understanding of how life on this side of eternity works. It’s called the Sigmoid Growth Curve. Read the rest of this entry »
Leading During Challenging Times
The Leadership Challenge
During good times lots of people masquerade as leaders. The truth is, great leaders are few and far between, and the greatest leaders work very hard to become better at leading. The current economic crisis is a great opportunity for leaders to grow and hone their skills. Kouzes and Posner identify Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership in The Leadership Challenge. Take these to heart: Read the rest of this entry »
The Heart and Soul of Leadership
Leadership Crisis
Enron collapses and thousands of people lose jobs and pensions. The United Way loses its way and donors begin to question every gift they make. A church scandalizes its members and disgraces the very message it proclaims. Governments lie to their people in order to achieve policy goals.
Are these the results of global economic factors rippling through the world? Major shifts in demographics? Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve got a big reason to be thankful
It could have easily gone the other way…
One of our portfolio companies, Kanon Group (a residential design/build remodeling company) had a crisis this week. On Tuesday night one of our project managers, Dave Sabatino, was in a very serious accident. Serious enough that he had to be cut out of the vehicle. Serious enough that his van looked like this when it was all over. In a set of really freakish circumstances I happened to be driving by the accident scene only a few moments after the accident occurred.
I don’t scare easily, but…
The Next New Year
2009 seems out of control.
You don’t have control over the economy. You don’t have control over who is in political office. You don’t have control over how deep this recession goes. You don’t have control over when credit and financial markets are going to normalize. Are you losing sleep yet?
So what do you have control over?
You have control over planning for 2009 as best you can. Here are 6 things that will help you be as prepared as possible (and help you sleep better). Some of them we all know but rarely do. Go do them. Read the rest of this entry »
We’re not in Kansas anymore…
With all that is happening in the world today you may be getting an unsettling feeling in your gut. There is a lot of change going on. Some of it good. Some of it bad.
With the election of Barack Obama as the first African American president, a democratically controlled house and senate, a crashing and burning economy, a worldwide credit crisis, and technology advancing at the speed of light, it is clear that the landscape of the world is changing rapidly.
As Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz:
“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
I ran across this video on the web the other day while reading the Monday Morning Memo from Roy Williams. Check it out. Read the rest of this entry »