Leadership Lessons

Prescribed Burns

Change Management, Personal Development, Focusing on Results, Strategic Thinking

It is healthy to periodically remove excesses to restore balance and promote growth in our lives. For the past 100 years we have carefully watched and patrolled the earth’s forests to prevent forest fires from destroying our national parks. The...

A 20¢ Lightbulb

Change Management, Focusing on Results, Strategic Thinking, Problem Solving, Customer Focus

Always focus on the things that matter most. In December 1972, a Lockheed L-1011 jumbo jet left New York’s JFK International Airport bound for Miami, Florida. The late-night flight was uneventful until it began its initial descent into Miami...

The Decision that Changed the World

Innovation, Delegating, Strategic Thinking, Customer Focus, Presentation Skills, Decision Making

Leadership is often distilled to prioritizing - deciding what to stop doing to focus on what you need to do. It was January 9, 2007, and Steve Jobs gave one of the most incredible presentations of both his life and in the history of consumer...

The Farmer and the Rock

Personal Development, Focusing on Results, Strategic Thinking, Problem Solving, Time Management

The best way out of a problem is through it. There was an old farmer who, year after year, had plowed around a large and expansive rock, as had his father before him. To the farmer, the rock was a source of constant irritation. He had broken...

It's Only Two Degrees

Personal Development, Focusing on Results, Dependability, Strategic Thinking, Personal Integrity

Even a minor deviation - a few degrees - may jeopardize what you hope to accomplish. What started as a fun, adventurous sightseeing trip to Antarctica ended in a tragedy that killed every person on board. Unbeknown to the pilots, someone had...

Curing Potatoes

Change Management, Focusing on Results, Innovation, Strategic Thinking, Problem Solving

Are you giving new ideas enough fresh air? In a restaurant kitchen in Des Plaines, Illinois a very concerned cook offered a sample from a batch of freshly cooked french fries. He watched with dismay as the same worried frown crossed his boss’s...

Blinded by an Egg

Change Management, Focusing on Results, Innovation, Strategic Thinking, Presentation Skills

Discovery has no example, no easy path to follow. Are you willing to see and search out unknown routes? The story is told that when Columbus returned from his historic voyage to the New World, the Spanish Court held a royal banquet in his honor.

Saved by a Sneeze

Change Management, Listening, Focusing on Results, Innovation, Strategic Thinking, Customer Focus

A willingness to adapt can mean the difference between prosperity and failure. When a cold hits and sneezing and sniffles ensue, what a comfort it is to know that you have your box of tissues close by your side ready to rescue your suffering...

Busy as a Bee

Team Building, Focusing on Results, Dependability, Strategic Thinking, Inspiring Commitment

Don't be too quick to encourage your employees to imitate the bee. Enable them to voice their concerns as well as their creative ideas. The honey bee is a legendary symbol of industry and hard work. How we admire its diligence in flying from...

Frogs and Fighting Bulls

Change Management, Delegating, Strategic Thinking, Organizational Savvy, Customer Focus

Use your time and resources to stay alert to the whole picture and how it might affect you and your organization. One of Aesop’s fables reads: A frog one day peeping out of the lake, and looking about him, saw two bulls fighting at some distance...