I get somewhat fed up seeing and hearing advice about how you can “have it all”. Sure, at some level, usually a transactional one, you can go from either/or to both/and. But at a life level? At a company level? Or at a country level (the main reason I don’t envy politicians)? Not so much. […]
Leadership
Even as we live longer, we are thinking shorter
My father was a lawyer by profession, but a gardner in soul. He understood that it takes time and patient nurturing for a seed to turn into a tree or a flower. And he did, in fact, sow hundreds if not thousands of plants in his life. It was one of the things I loved […]
Great and Mediocre Teams and Ideas
“if you give a good idea to a mediocre team, they will screw it up. If you give a mediocre idea to a brilliant team, they will either fix it or throw it away and come up with something better.” Love this from Pixar co-founder, Ed Catmull. Always been my experience with the multitude of […]
Give them a chance even though they might fail
I’ve often given young(ish!) people in my team positions of relatively large responsibility. Almost every time I’ve done it, they’ve succeeded. Almost. Every. Time. I’m not suggesting that the responsibility should be given lightly, or given to anyone who asks for it. You still need to choose carefully – both the person and the level […]
Reasons your team won’t do what you told them to do
One of the most common frustrations I’ve heard from CEOs and managers more generally is “But I told them ….” Whether it’s to do something or to behave a certain way (e.g. values). But “telling them” isn’t enough. Here are some reasons your team may not be doing what you “told them”. There’s a culture […]