Obsess Over the Process

Obsess Over the Process

Obsess over the process, not the outcome.    I recently listened to an interview with the actor Bryan Cranston, and he had some really interesting things to say about the early days in his career. Back then, when he would go to auditions, he would...
Natural Energy

Natural Energy

Get the right people on the bus and then get them in the right seats.     This is wisdom from Jim Collins, the author of Good to Great and Built to Last, two great business books I’ve read and taken notes from. There are a lot of principles...
Check Your Mindset

Check Your Mindset

As leaders, we talk about coaching tips and how to give feedback to our teams; it’s important to know if our people are in the right frame of mind to receive feedback. It’s also essential to gut-check ourselves to ensure we’re in the right frame of...
Consistency Always Wins

Consistency Always Wins

How often do we apply consistency to our lives to see an impact? One example could be healthy eating. Have you ever eaten healthy for a few days and then jumped on the scale to see how much weight you’ve lost? A day or two of healthy eating doesn’t lead to...
Sometimes You Need To Walk Away

Sometimes You Need To Walk Away

Sometimes you need to walk away from your problems. I’m the one who always says run toward the problem, so why would I be saying you have to walk away from your problems? Because there are times when you’re wrestling with a problem, and you need to walk away from it...
Share Bad News Proactively

Share Bad News Proactively

It’s never fun sharing bad news, but it’s always necessary. I think the key to sharing bad news is being proactive. There’s a saying, “share good news fast and bad news faster.” To develop trust in any relationship, you must share the bad...
You Gotta Expect That

You Gotta Expect That

You gotta expect that!    This is a phrase I use with some of my longest-standing friends from my hometown, Fenton, Michigan. Years ago, when I was living in Nashville, Tennessee, we were watching a University of Michigan game. They were playing Notre...
2 Ideas That Lead to Success

2 Ideas That Lead to Success

I saw a tweet by Brad Stulberg with ideas that lead to success. Two ideas jumped out at me that I want to share with you.    “Do not worry about being the best; worry about being the best at getting better.”    Focus on...
Bow Tie Leadership

Bow Tie Leadership

Bow tie leadership is a new term I made up. It came to me as I was preparing for a black-tie event I have coming up this weekend.    I needed to get out my bow tie and remember how to tie it, something I’d never done until last year when I had a...
Lead With Humility & Empathy

Lead With Humility & Empathy

Recently, we had John U. Bacon to Service Express for our Leadership Speaker Series. The most recent session focused on diversity, and a few key takeaways stood out to me. Here are a few reminders that are crucial to good leadership:   Have each...