All of us are dealing with upsets in our lives.
Moments when our values, beliefs, norms, or safety are in danger. These can be real threats that might cause any harm or perceived threats that won’t physically harm us. Unfortunately, the amygdala, part of our brain, can not distinguish between real and perceived threats.… Read the rest
“The annexation of the four Ukrainian regions by Russia is unacceptable.”
Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs
This is a quote from a Dutch politician from last week.
He addressed the Dutch press before he went ahead and summoned the Russian ambassador to the Netherlands to convey the same message.
He got the order wrong and should have talked to the ambassador first. … Read the rest
Most leaders have no clue about culture.
No clue. Nada. Nic (Czech). Nothing.
Oh yes, they talk about culture. They convey a belief that they actually don’t understand, but they don’t.
In fact,
Those leaders that talk most about culture probably understand the least.
The leaders I know who are good at culture transformation do quietly what needs to get done.… Read the rest
I wonder what percentage of companies have some version of teamwork in their values.
All the companies I was employed by had some form of teamwork in their values.
That last part of the sentence was intentional — ‘the posting on the walls’ part.… Read the rest
Can a company grow too fast?
The answer to that question is yes, but many will struggle to provide me with that answer because they’ve never experienced it.
When I grew up, there was a show on TV called ‘Keeping up appearances.’
The main character, Hyacinth Bucket, or Bouquet as she called herself, lived a life pretending to be well off and part of society’s elite. I still vividly can hear her over-the-top English accent as she tried to make everyone believe she was the living example of high status.… Read the rest
I am deeply disturbed by the war that Mr. Putin started yesterday.
I woke up with the news yesterday morning before heading home after a brief vacation. For the rest of the day, I was off my usual self.… Read the rest
Allow me to share a few quotes to kick off the conversation this week.
To set the tone here’s the first quote by Simon Sinek:
“100% of employees are people. 100% of customers are people. 100% of investors are people. If you don’t understand people, you don’t understand business.”
Simon Sinek
Makes sense, right?… Read the rest
Earlier this week, we went out for a coffee with the family, played a new game we discovered over the holidays called ‘exploding kittens,’ and bought a pair of running shoes before heading back home.
On the way out, we passed a store with many backpacks on display. Backpacks in all sizes, colors, and quality. … Read the rest
Happy New Year!
A new year full of opportunity. I hope that you’ll be able to see the possibilities for you, and more importantly, you will be able to capitalize on them.
We, human beings, like the nature of (hard) transitions, such as the start of a new year.
It allows us to start all over again with a clean slate.… Read the rest
In my last two blog posts, I wrote about conditions that needed to be present for teams to maximize the potential for robust, sustainable, high performance.
First, a team needs to invest time to get to know each other well. Leaders need to build a foundation where team members trust each other.… Read the rest
