Palm Tree or Fir Tree? What’s Your Decision Tree?

One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned as a leader is embodied in The Big Six® principle, “Trust and Empower.” It wasn’t that I didn’t want to empower others; yet, I always seemed to drift back into being more controlling. And, throughout my career, I had to continuously step back and try to see myself … Read more

Finding Time

Having trouble finding time? In early 2016, a new weekends-off initiative was unveiled at J.P. Morgan called “Pencils Down.” The media was quick to highlight the move by the financial giant as a radical step: “The initiative…is unusual in a high-powered corner of Wall Street where 100-hour weeks are considered by some as a badge … Read more

Riding the Train or Laying the Track? Leading Corporate Change

Change is messy, hard, and difficult. According to the Harvard Business Review, 75% of corporate change initiatives fail. Business Week cites the fact that 88% of CEOs report change is their “biggest challenge.” In reality, though, business is change. Understanding change is half the battle. How do we begin with leading corporate change? In the … Read more

The Real Meaning of Customer Service

  There are no traffic jams along the extra mile. – Roger Staubach A few years ago, I had the unique opportunity to visit India, China, Thailand, and Vietnam. And what struck me above all else was their concept of customer service. To be sure, they had distinct differences in their history, business practices, and … Read more

The Power of Servant Leadership

“I’ve been a big believer, that if you’re going to lead, you have to serve and support,” 7-Eleven CEO Joe DePinto said in a 2016 interview with Army magazine, “That gives you the permission and credibility to lead.” And not only did Mr. DePinto talk about servant leadership, he demonstrated it when he walked into … Read more