[November 08, 2013] Senior executive leaders develop big ideas. Big ideas are a framework, a way of making sense of something about the world we live in that solves a problem or makes something better. They help us “see,” to organize desperate facts and details into a picture that gives us insight. Charles Darwin wrote that his theory… Read More »
[November 07, 2013] Next year in 2014, the 100th anniversary of World War I will be marked by a number of significant events pointing to the heroic sacrifice made by brave men and women of the United States. “The War to End all Wars” or “The Great War,” as it has been called, was being fought while the… Read More »
[November 07, 2013] Over the past few decades and recently in the past few weeks, there has been a lively discussion about the big lies told by politicians and the impact of those lies. Name any US President in the last 50 years and just about anyone can tell you about a “whopper” that had a highly visible… Read More »
[November 06, 2013] In many organizations there is a bit of a split persona – in particular, as it applies to those who are selected to advance to the more senior leadership positions. There are those people who are the exceptional and successful operators, who in the US Army we call the “warfighter.” These are those folks who… Read More »
[November 05, 2013] As we have seen repeated here, senior executive leadership exhibits itself and its successes in several ways. Today, I will use Korean Airlines to show senior leader values (see disclaimer below). Annually, I travel over 125,000 miles by plane. This level of use gives me an appreciation for good service and how international airline carriers… Read More »
[November 04, 2013] The best way to deal with a crisis is to simply be prepared. Planning, resourcing, rehearsing, organizing, and placing the right people on the job is key. The upside? Lives and property are saved and organizations survive. The downside? It detracts from other priorities and is expensive. It is difficult to replicate crises experiences but… Read More »
[November 03, 2013] Today, more books that I found especially interesting: The Spirit to Serve: Marriott’s Way by J.W. Marriott, Jr. and Kathi Ann Brown A well-written, inspirational, and easy to read book that contains business tenets of the successful Marriott Hotel chain. He talks about how through sheer determination Marriott shot from the small cottage to the… Read More »
[November 03, 2013] We’ve all seen it; supervisors who give excuses for employees who are failures in their jobs. Like the alcoholic whose family enables the alcoholic’s drinking behavior, leaders can also enable failure. Whatever the reason or excuse, there is a emerging trend in U.S. organizations where leaders fail to take quick, effective action to deal with… Read More »
[November 02, 2013] In early September, I wrote about how it is an important characteristics of senior leaders to develop trust and confidence in our employees, our boss, our peers, and customers. It is always a good thing to find an example of success so that we can learn from what made it possible. Another method of wisdom… Read More »
[November 01, 2013] We all want our leaders to be problem solvers and overcome all obstacles. Fundamentally, relevant experience is what makes this possible. While experience is necessary for all leaders, our most senior leaders need a broader array of experiences. Senior executive leaders should have the experience of sufficient moral preparation to stay right, to act quickly… Read More »