Chicago has been basking in the glory of their game seven victory in this year's World Series, the Cubs first in 108 years. Someone mentioned to me the other day that the Cubs start their night games at 7:08 PM, which in military time is 19:08 – or 1908 – the year the Cubs last won the World …
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Knowledge has always been distributed, usually unevenly, across organizations. Senior leaders were the ones to pull the strands together to formulate key decisions. Today, the availability of information and resources span the globe and demand more meetings and collaboration. This need is …
The joyful heart sees and reads the world with a sense of freedom and graciousness. - John O'Donohue Experience: A Prerequisite for Graciousness? David Brooks recently wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times entitled "The Art of Gracious Leadership". In it he was lamenting the somewhat …
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In the past week a lot has been written about potential presidential candidate Jeb Bush and his evolving answers to a vexing question from a reporter: Knowing what we know now, would you have made the decision to invade Iraq in 2003? During the course of a week his answer evolved and the subject of …
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I recently came across an interesting article, The Top 5 Regrets of The Dying, which are listed below: I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. I wish I hadn't worked so hard. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings. I wish I …
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I came across a quote that has been attributed to J.J. Watt, All-Pro football player for the Houston Texans: Success isn't owned; it's leased and you pay rent every day. J.J. Watt was referring to his dedication to all the hard work to make himself physically and mentally capable of staying at the …
CFO to CEO: What happens if we spend training funds developing our people and then they leave us? CEO to CFO: What happens if we don’t and they stay? You never know where inspiration may come from. I saw this quote the other day and thought it was a very telling insight about the need for investing …
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You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor. - Aristotle A client of mine for many years is on a prominent financial advisory team that manages in excess of $7 billion for its clients. One member of the team recently announced his …
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Last Sunday night I saw something quite remarkable. Nik Wallenda walked across a tightrope for two city blocks across the Chicago River between two high-rises at a height of 600 feet. He did it in cool temperatures on an early November night. A friend of mine and I watched in a crowd of about …
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I am constantly trying to understand the changing nature of the demands on leaders and to see how the definition of effective leadership is evolving. But sometimes, it all goes back to the basics. I'd like to review what some of the very best thought leaders have said to add to our collective …
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I am not sure how many of you that read this own an iPhone, but I bet the percentage is pretty high. Others that favor Samsung or even Blackberry might have different allegiances, but Apple has asked suppliers of the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which starts shipping this Friday, to produce 80 million …
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I have unfortunately not only heard people bemoan how tough it is to be a leader today, but have actively sought ways to move out of leadership roles because it's hard work. With the advent of global competition and the severe economic downturn of the last six years, companies have been hard …
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