I saw a sign that read, “if you don’t schedule time for maintenance, downtime will be scheduled for you.” This phrase had such ancient wisdom it made me wonder if Socrates said it first. Following are some of the thoughts the sign brought up for me.

When looking at new projects, we need to look under the surface of our ideas from two angles.

The way we frame our challenges can have a huge impact on our outcomes.

Following are five principles I use to guide the creation of my body of work.

Despite how much we complain, there is a joy to working on urgent items. They give us a ready excuse for not working on the hard things.

About 23 years ago, I did a course in software development where I tracked every mistake I made. It was shocking and disheartening. I made too many mistakes. And I found that those mistakes were costing me too much time.

Last night, it snowed about 7 inches. The snow was not a surprise, and we were prepared. I was out at daybreak, clearing pathways for all to enjoy.

December can be a busy time of celebrations, as well as a time of closing out one year and ushering in the new.

One of the most powerful things we can do for ourselves is to make a conscious effort to create, sustain, and grow our personal support systems.

This Thursday in the United States is our Thanksgiving holiday. This holiday means many things for many people. For me, this is a week of conscious gratitude.

When you deliver a solution to your customers, do they trust it will work the first time? If not, how many iterations does it take before it does work at adequate levels?

Did you ever think about Ganymede, one of the most interesting moons around Jupiter, and perhaps the whole of our solar system?

How do you know if a team has taken ownership of the challenge they have been given? Here are 5 examples.

In my consulting, I have seen some organizations working long hours but not achieving the organizational mission.

“Hmm, I don’t know who uses it”, was the honest answer I received to my question.

Could following these noise-canceling strategies help you focus on your goals and lower the distraction factor of all that other noise?

Before investing, you must have a realistic plan to ensure the investment will be useful to you and the organization. Before you write the check, ensure that the investment will be useful and used.

In the springtime, I will often take a longer way home when I am out in the car doing errands. I do this so I can drive by cows that are also enjoying the spring. I very much enjoy seeing the newborn calves being taken care of by their mothers.

Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.

Great design is the foundation of speed to value for any organization.

The earth was miles below. Its vivid colors contrasted against the deep blacks of outer space.

To say that 2020 was a surprising year is a vast understatement. Many people I know had challenging years, some had unexpected successes, and no one had the year they originally envisioned.

Ten years ago, I was at my annual physical.  My family doctor was chatting with me while leaning in to listen to my heart.  She placed the stethoscope, stopped talking, looked completely startled, looked up at me, and said, “They can fix it!”

I am delighted that Elizabeth Teliz-McQuarrie invited me to speak at the “X-Factor Leadership Summit” on November 17th.

It’s important to be intensely curious about the theories you develop to explain success. Try them out. If you succeed, don’t assume that all the reasons for your success are obvious.

It’s voting season in the USA, and on Sunday, our family went together to vote.

Take this self assessment to discover how well you are using your time and find out ways you can improve. Reach out to get a copy of my 1-page “Own Your Time process.”

The secret ingredient of creating great projects is not looking to the the past you saw before. Instead, focus on creating the future you want to see.

John Wooden had many of the best high school players in the country join his program at UCLA. The first thing he did was teach them how to put on their socks and shoes.

I have always enjoyed shooting free throws. It is immensely satisfying when the basketball goes swish through the hoop without touching the rim.

Last week was one of those weeks. One of those weeks where there were lots of work things demanding my attention, and well, COVID-19 world-wide stress.

Some people I have been working with lately have found themselves in planning traps. The symptom these traps have in common is often “plan paralysis”. In spite of the fact that they are unable to make plans, they are often still starting to work on things.

I recently learned many things about my ancestors stretching back over 200 years. Like all of us, they were faced with many choices and challenges.

Saturday was Watts Humphrey’s birthday. Watts was one of my mentors. He had a very positive impact on my work and my life.

One of the delights of our walks around our woods and grasslands is being surprised by dragonflies.

The question she asked was “How can I know I have done my best to achieve the result if the result was not fully achieved?”

“Doing things at the last minute reminds us of the importance of doing things at the first minute.” Matshona Dhliwayo

I learned a lot from farming and I still do. In fact, business, in general, learns a lot from farming as the words permeate much of the business language.

How well versed is your organization in using experts to improve your engines of performance?

My son Jacob celebrated his twenty-fifth birthday this year before the onset of the pandemic.

My new book Lead With Speed is coming and I’m working on a T-Shirt. Which do you prefer?

Now is the time to get started in the world of work again, and you want to get started fast!

My wish for you is that the pause between years refreshes and energizes you for the challenges of a new decade.

The year 2020 is rapidly approaching. Instead of a New Year’s resolution consider embarking on a Grand Tour of the Decade.

I grew up on a farm that has been in the family for nearly 200 years. Having been in the family for so long, the farmhouse is a treasure trove of pictures and documents.

I’m going to be partnering with one of the leading nonprofit organizations in project management in a new initiative to develop online course offerings. The opportunity is exciting. But the question is, what should I build first? To answer this, I am seeking your input.

A friend and I looked over what needed to be done and estimated it would take us at least two to three full days. Next I called in our local fence repair experts.

The equinox was yesterday. The sunrise came as expected, splitting the night from the day in a perfect balance.

I really enjoyed Alex Goldfayn’s book about growing “confidence, happiness, and sales”. The focus is on sales, but the lessons are great for any leader.

We sat on a Cape Cod beach for hours last Friday night. I found myself completely relaxed enjoying a marvelous sunset.

I astounded some young teens while playing basketball with them. I made 27 free throws in a row.

We found this bee sound asleep on a flower. When she awoke, she continued her wonderful work.

The task before us seemed impossible. The trumpet vine had grown vigorously on our trellis for twenty years.

This week in the United States of America, there is the traditional “4th of July” holiday, celebrating the writing of the Declaration of Independence.

Many of my clients become frustrated with how hard it is to make change happen. It’s true that it’s not an easy task.

It seems obvious when someone wins an elite level road race that substantial preparation happened before the athlete stepped to the start line. There was preparation by the athlete and also by the race directors.

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.

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.

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

“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.

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.”

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

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.

"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...

"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...

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.

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.