Keys to Getting Trusted Critics

I have seen leaders show great endurance in leading marathon projects. They are putting in marathon hours. The sweat sheen on them and their teams is obvious, even heroic.

A client wrote to me recently with a note that said simply “I need a win.” Have you been there, where it feels like you have faced a sudden losing streak and quite simply there is a need for a win? I have. I expect Elon Musk is looking for one with Tesla.

The exceptional leaders are voracious consumers of information. They listen to audio books, they read books, they seek out others to hear their stories. The things they read spans multiple genres, time periods, and cultures.

"Ritual is important to us as human beings. It ties us to our traditions and our histories." — Miller Williams, Poet My wife and I just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. Even though real work of building a life together happens in the minutes and hours between...

"Welcome to Sherwood!" — Robin Hood Father's Day was a delight for me. My family treated me a number of fun things. I was served breakfast in a hammock. I was treated to a delicious cold milkshake at a local ice-cream shop. My daughter and I have a plan to go buy some...

"I have never had to face anything that could overwhelm the native optimism and stubborn perseverance I was blessed with. " — Sonia Sotomayor One of my best clients and I were enjoying the start of our day at a local coffee cafe. We covered a range of topics and one...

"Language is the means of getting an idea from my brain into yours without surgery. " — Mark Amidon The Washington DC zoo has this very interesting roulette-style wheel located just past the cheetah exhibit. You spin the wheel to find out if you caught your prey, your...

"A strategic inflection point is a time in the life of a business when its fundamentals are about to change. that change can mean an opportunity to rise to new heights. But it may just as likely signal the beginning of the end." — Andrew Grover There are a wave of...

"Even though it is not always easy… being a planetary scientist is one of the coolest jobs on the planet!" — Elizabeth (Zibi) Turtle   Imagine exploring Titan! And to be clear, I am not referring to the planet Titan of Thanos (Avengers), I am referring to a...

Paradigm leaps take need, courage, and sweat. You will notice a different look and feel to the newsletter this week. Earlier this year, I became unsatisfied with a few key things and decided to make some changes.

Soon after watching the sunrise in a city very near Death Valley in California, I was talking with one of the residents.

It was startling, unexpected, and… great. I was rushing from one place to another thinking of the far too many things I had to accomplish.
I heard a “wooossshh.”

When I vote today, I know that I am voting for people. I am seeking to vote for people that will work to build each level of our government towards a common goal and a common good.

On your trip down new roads, embrace the sensation of feeling a bit lost. You will return home with new perspectives and new ideas.

Attending a recent painfully meandering meeting brought to mind the need to revisit the beauty of brevity.

“Ahhhhh,” I happily sighed. New running shoes are such a delight for me and these fit just right. They are light and felt fast in my test run in the store.

Persistence, Dedication, Individuality.
Lead with these things in mind and you will do well.

This time of year can be an intensely busy time. We feel our attention pulled in many directions. Taking time to refresh our perspectives can be a useful tool in accomplishing what is important.

I was using a phone app to measure an awkward shape. The app chided me to add a point. It needed new data to be able to better understand the task it was being asked to do.

My family and I are looking forward to a very busy month of December. There is much work to be done and much fun to be had. It seems that the calendar year always ends with a dash towards a virtual finish line.

It is a bit embarrassing for me to admit, but I really did think it would be easy. It turns out running races actually does take training.

I am always amazed about how busy this time of year is!

There is a rush to finish the business year well. At the same time, there is an emphasis on family togetherness and taking stock of personal achievements.

It can be difficult to find time to focus on joy.

Once a quarter, I publish a special quarterly edition which as you’ll see is a little longer and has different content than the weekly newsletters. This quarter’s edition announces The Year of Speed!

Have you noticed that in running races, sometimes people look quite exhausted and then when they see the finish line they go faster?

When creating something new, whether it be a book, a new marketing campaign, or a new software system, many people have a tendency to want to do it “all by themselves”.

It is not the amount of sweat as much as it is “sweating the right way” – in the way to pick up speed.

Three different clients of mine achieved their most powerful goals this past week. For two of them, the big achievement was followed by a big emotional letdown. It was not at all how they had expected to feel.

One of the delightful things in being interviewed is that I always learn something new. Angie and Kelsey’s show is so dynamic I learned many things.

The way in which this improvement was accomplished was also the best for the people and cars. Instead of an install over months that would have been a tremendous inconvenience for everyone traveling that way, there was just one afternoon of detours.

Respect the stop sign when you see it on my office door. I taught that to my kids at a young age. Why do I find it so important?
When it comes to creative work, there is a high need for interrupt-free time. The ability to shut out the outside world allows one to get into the flow.