Working relationships can be a minefield, especially when a relationship that’s generally good starts to go bad. I’m not talking about severe wrongs of the lawsuit variety here. I’m referring to the myriad injuries we inflict on one another, often without realizing it. These injuries can...
It happens to nearly everyone at least once. You find yourself working for an ineffective boss whose issues impact you and your team. While it’s certainly disappointing, it doesn’t have to be an unstoppable force of destruction. There are three mistakes I see talented professionals make...
Threatening. Ego-crushing. Insecurity-inducing. Awkward. These words all describe what happens when you manage people who know more about their profession than you do. This happens because most managers try to lead experts the same way they manage people who are more junior. Let’s face it – every leader who climbs...
I am immersed in a world of hyper-growth. All hyper-growth companies struggle with the unrelenting demands of rapid scale. There is no smooth sailing when your company is doubling, tripling, or quadrupling in size each year. However, some companies make it through hyper-growth and come out...
“How can I get the cynics on my team to be more positive?” “How can I find more time to manage my growing business?” “How can I get my very junior staff to understand important developments on a project so they make the right choices going forward?” What...
I bet if I asked, you could rattle off dozens of examples of people who caused great harm from being drunk on power. It makes for great movies and it arguably was responsible for triggering the Great Recession. But I see a different and equally destructive...
In any given year, I spend 50 – 70% of my time working with entrepreneurs. This happens for several reasons. Sometimes their businesses were successful and were acquired by one of my mid-size or larger clients. At other times they hire me directly to help...
O.k., Everybody – Listen Up! Actually, I mean it. It’s the #1 change you can make in 2013 to dramatically improve in any area of your life that involves other people. Think about it. There are only four ways to communicate that involve language: writing, reading, speaking,...
It’s that time of year! I don’t mean the many holidays celebrated this month. I mean the annual personal planning process that gears up in December. It can be a real crunch to execute at year-end while also planning for the coming year. Still, it’s...
For as long as there have been people-related initiatives, there has been the vexing challenge of measuring their impact. It’s infinitely more complex and challenging than the day-to-day...