“States’ Rights” Vs. “Federal” Rights

I used this term a lot as a COO because getting this balance right is critical. At the “federal” level, certain requirements I defined for the organization were non-negotiable (“we are reporting our financials on this date, this way”) …other decisions were better left to the people on the ground  (“what’s the best way to thank Joe’s employees who worked crazy hours last weekend for the system cutover?”)

Companies often grapple with this issue because getting the balance is hard, but not getting this balance right can lead to real problems. Continue reading →

Stepping Out of Retirement

So I’ve been working over 30+ years (gee whiz!), retired, and then started working again. Now I’m figuring out what I want to do. I’m fortunate enough to have a couple of options open to me, and I’m trying to figure out the right one.

When you’re deciding on jobs at this stage of your life, what is important to you changes. So here’s what I’ve learned…..or not learned.

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Timely vs Timeless

I’ve had the opportunity to work with one of the best communications team….and one of the most important lessons I learned was the importance of “timeless” vs “timely” communications for more strategic efforts. It’s a simple, but powerful concept. Continue reading →

The Concept of a Talk Track

I’ve noticed people started making references to “talk tracks” a lot. I figured out what it meant: essentially it’s  “what is the narrative?”  The narrative is important because it’s basically the argument you’re making to convince others that you’re right.  So what are the lessons learned on talk tracks? Continue reading →

Do……less

This post is written for a friend who has had a medical event….and I think it’s because he puts a lot of pressure on himself, holds himself to impossibly high standards, and is working ALL THE TIME. Here’s some lessons learned on the socially acceptable behavior that hurts you….working too much. Continue reading →

Sports Metaphors

I’ve been on lots of projects, and I’ve also gotten brought in to fix projects which have gone haywire. Nothing is worse than being on a project that’s going poorly….”we’re rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic” is one of the memorable things said to me.  Here’s a list of the things that I most often see….

(If you ask me any rules about any sports, I don’t know them. But I love sports metaphors.)

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Challenge: Assuming the Worst Case

This is something I have wrestled with my entire life….and still continue to struggle with. When I don’t get a response, or a response that seems “off”, I assume the worst case… that I screwed up, that I offended the person somehow…..I immediately go to the multitudes of reasons why I didn’t get the response I thought I should have gotten. And here’s the one thing that always resolves it….

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