Maxims to Live By

One of the arts of leadership that I urge strongly is that leaders distill and internalize maxims—short statements of wisdom. I urge them to memorize these maxims, to live them, to talk about them, and to be generous in passing them on to the young. This is part of the [read more]

2021-02-22T12:06:13-05:00February 10th, 2021|Leading Thoughts|

Establishing First Principles

I believe that the primary job of a leader is to build a vibrant leadership culture. If this is true, then establishing clear “First Principles” is something all leaders must skillfully do. First Principles are those truths that guide conduct. They are the short, clear statements that team members remember, [read more]

2018-02-27T12:23:19-05:00February 27th, 2018|Leading Thoughts|

Leaders Are Different

I wonder if you’ve ever heard this famous sentence: “The British Navy is a system designed by geniuses for execution by idiots.” Now, the problem with this sentence is that it calls everyone in the Navy an idiot. Obviously that’s not true. Still, there is an important truth here about [read more]

2016-05-26T10:02:17-04:00May 26th, 2016|Leading Thoughts|

5/21/15

It is the season of school graduations as I write this. I am moved each year at this time. What does it for me is watching tender but titanic shifts in millions of lives. Some step from high school into jobs or college. Others launch from college into professional life. [read more]

2015-05-21T23:23:55-04:00May 21st, 2015|Leading Thoughts|
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