You can’t transform a group structure without having the leadership go through some type of transformational experience. Original writing date: April 18, 2005

Dad used to take a position with respect to people who would ask him about his success with the dogs. Dad was fairly successful in betting the greyhounds. He loved the dogs. I’m not sure why, because Greyhounds are frankly pretty ugly. But the fact is he just simply loved them. And, maybe because of [...]

Understand the Process Accept Universal Rules Embrace the Rules of Engagement Original writing date: April 14, 2005

Leadership requires: optimism, clear vision, clear directions, unflappability, and celebration.

In military terms, it has been estimated you will lose nine people on the offense for one person you lose on the defense. In other words, it is nine times more costly to attack than to defend. While that has its own internal dynamics with respect to strategy and tactics in business, it is also [...]

1. Speed, flexibility, adaptability to change 2. Sustained and steady top-line growth 3. Customer loyalty/retention 4. Stimulating innovation/ creativity/enabling entrepreneurship 5. Tight cost control 6. Availability of talented managers/executives 7. Cost/ability to innovate 8. Employee loyalty/commitment/job satisfaction 9. Transferring knowledge/ideas practices within the company 10. Succession planning 11. Making investment/capital allocation decisions 12. Aligning IT [...]

There really are only three types of people who are involved together: Kindred spirits, traveling companions, or missionaries. That’s it. I have the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate kindred spirits. If we decide to bind together because we want to accomplish something internal to ourselves, we’ll become traveling companions more interested in just simply sharing [...]

It was at least over a decade ago that I happened to be standing on a platform at a National Real Estate Conference with several other speakers during a question-and-answer period. The issue of the Soviet Union came up and there was continued discussion about the Soviet Union and where it was headed. Quite honestly, [...]

At the end of the day, the popularity of an executive, as with a General, is not with the Executive Team or with the Chiefs of Staff; it’s with the ranked file. A CEO, as well as the Commander in Chief, needs to be involved with touching and feeling the rank and file, while he [...]

Whether we are starting up a new program internally, or seeking an M&A opportunity, one of the major drivers as we move forward is economic impact. When you consider the economic impact of any particular endeavor, it has to be in terms of significant multiples, because, no matter what, an internal initiative or an M&A [...]