Since their invention in 1981, SMART goals have become a way of life for leaders worldwide and for good reason. The most apparent benefits of SMART goals are that they improve communication when delegating a project as well as increase the chances the project will succeed. While the base acronym offers up a lot of value on its own, after …
What’s the best way to talk to your boss about a problem if no one likes a complainer? This is a challenging issue because the wrong approach can be rather damaging. You can accidentally hurt your relationship with your boss and even mess up your career if you get associated with the words “complainer” or “negative”. Of course, you probably …
If you keep up with Hollywood gossip news, you’ve probably seen some headlines about Tom Cruise’s most recent unhinged rant. He got upset about some COVID safety violations on the set of “Mission: Impossible 7” and melted down on the cast and crew. Unsurprisingly, now the story has broken that there’s a mass exodus amongst the movie’s staff. Even in …
“Encourage leadership at all levels” is the eleventh part of a twelve-part series. It’s a deep look behind the scenes of the “business playbook” that makes VC-backed companies successful and how to apply these lessons to your business. If you’re looking for the introduction to the series and first article, please click here. If you’re looking for other articles in …
After over a decade as a startup executive, I’ll admit I cringe when someone brings up stretch goals. But Dave, according to Google, they’re best practice! It says it right there in their 10 things we know to be true philosophy document: “We set ourselves goals we know we can’t reach yet, because we know that by stretching to meet …
I’ll get to the leadership lesson in a moment, but first let me tell you a story. According to Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the founder and King of Corinth, a city in south-central Greece. Sisyphus was famed for his cleverness, leading Homer to describe him in the Iliad as “the most cunning of men.” Unfortunately for Sisyphus, he was also …
“It is better to first get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats, and then figure out where to drive.” -Jim Collins, “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… And Others Don’t” Generally accepted business wisdom agrees that the single biggest predictor of business success …
My client’s employee had worked through lunch and it was already 3 pm. As a doctor prior to starting his business, he knew all the reasons this was a poor idea. “The first commitment I made was to do no harm! Go to lunch!” my client told her. When he told me the story, I was impressed. He had connected …
If I had to define them in one sentence, I’d say: If your business looked in the mirror, KPIs are what would be staring back at it. But, since I have more than one sentence, I’ll elaborate. KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator. A KPI is a piece of tracked and trended information that helps explain how your business (or …
Leadership vs management… what’s the difference? If you Google it you’ll find a host of articles painting “management” as the shadowy underbelly of leadership done poorly and putting “leadership” on a worship-worthy pedestal. Is “leadership” the Dr. Jekyll to “management’s” Mr. Hyde? Or are these comparisons unfair? If you buy into leadership vs management as a light vs dark paradigm, …
