“Knowing when to leave may be the smartest thing anyone can learn.” ~ Burt Bacharach Over the years I have had the opportunity to work with or present in front of 1000’s of leaders. On occasion, I have been asked, What makes a great leader? What are the traits of a great leader? Can…
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” ~Lao Tzu These words spoken by the 6th Century Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu, really captures the heart of leadership for me. Unlike many of the current leaders of today…
“Never tolerate poor performance in yourself or others.” ~Larry Winget We’ve all been there. You have a poor performer on your team, yes, the one you refer to as your problem child. The one who takes up an inordinate amount of time, energy, and resources, and who consistently under-performs. Below is a list of…
“True Grit is making a decision and standing by it, doing what must be done. No moral man can have peace of mind if he leaves undone what he knows he should have done.” ~John Wayne The movie: True Grit (the original starring John Wayne). The scene: John Wayne, on his horse in a meadow, 50…
Losing Sight of the Big Rocks Years ago, I had the opportunity to work with a Fortune 100 company going through a merger. At the time, there was immense pressure to make sure five key areas of the integration went flawlessly. Most importantly, the reservation’s systems, which were foundational for driving revenue. Similar companies who…
Lessons From a Courageous Leader There are leaders…and then there are Courageous Leaders A number of years ago there was a story circulating on the internet about a U.S. Navy SEAL by the name of Michael Anthony Monsoor who was killed during the Iraq War on September 29, 2006. The story goes that his platoon…