How To Get to the Truth

This sounds so basic….I mean, isn’t the truth about something self-evident?  Often in business we have so many metrics, so many smart people’s opinions, so much expertise and openness….how can we not know the truth?

Well, the reality is that the truth isn’t always so obvious…. especially when things aren’t going well. It could be a project that’s falling behind, a surge in attrition…the problem is that there can be many reasons, but how do you actually get to the truth of the matter and what should be fixed first?

One technique I find myself using more and more is the following….

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The Most Important Math Calculations for Life

I saw an article where someone was talking about the key math calculations you need to be able to do in order to plan for retirement….but they were about things like being able to calculate interest on loans, credit card balances, etc. It got me to thinking about what calculations I do as a “sanity check”.

Full disclaimer…I cannot do math to save my life.  I almost had to take accounting again in B-school but passed by 2 points. I need a calculator always.  But having said that, I absolutely rely on numbers to tell me how I’m doing. The key is…what numbers? Continue reading →

How To Get Rich…

I came across this article, and it really spoke to me. The concept of getting rich can seem selfish and a taboo subject.  I define getting rich as being financially independent: not worrying about money all the time, being self-sufficient, and being able to financially help out others who may not have the money to deal with financial surprises.  Don’t we all want that?

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Saying Thank You

Basically, it’s always welcome. But sometimes you need to go above and beyond the politeness and really make the other person understand how much you appreciate them. I’ve found that consistency and  the level of effort and thought drive the impact of the thank you.

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The Impact of Time

As I get older, one of the things I’ve noticed is that the biggest problems aren’t typically “big events” but the accumulation of bad habits over time. Just like time can help (compounding!), time can hurt as well. And as you get older, you start seeing the incremental impact of all these habits…good and bad.  So what are some of the lessons I’m learning?

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“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 →