Authenticity in Leadership

“Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.” – Norman Schwarzkopf

Last night I found myself in front of the TV watching NFL football games I cared nothing about, when one of my friends sent me a text and suggested I watch the movie “We Were Soldiers” (it was airing on TNT).  I’d seen the movie before, but since my Texans had already lost their game and my Saints had pulled out a win in theirs, I figured it was worth watching again.  I’m glad I did.

“We Were Soldiers” is a 2002 film that dramatizes the Battle of Ia Drang on November 14, 1965 (during the Vietnam War).  In this battle, 400 American soldiers were dropped in to a battlefield to secure a position, only to find out the location was the base camp for a veteran North Vietnamese Army division of more than 4,000 men.  After several days of fierce battle, the US soldiers had defeated an enemy ten times their size – but at a significant loss.  A hollow victory for sure, but one which reflects the nature of that horrible conflict. Continue reading →

The Most Important Member of the Team is the Team

“No one person, no one alliance, no one nation, no one of us is as smart as all of us thinking together.” – Admiral James Stavridis (Ret), US Navy, and former Supreme Allied Commander Europe

“[In medicine,] we have trained, hired and rewarded people to be cowboys, but it’s pit crews that we need.” – Atul Gawande, author of ‘How Do We Heal Medicine?’

“A group becomes a team when each member is sure enough of himself and his contribution to praise the skills of the others.” – Norman Shidle

You may recall from my last message two weeks ago that my father was involved in a motorcycle accident and suffered a serious brain injury.  Fortunately the EMT’s identified the signs of injury quickly enough and had him airlifted from the scene of the accident to the nearest trauma center – San Antonio Military Medical Hospital (SAMMC).   It is there I spent a week in the ICU unit watching over my father’s recovery.  It is there I watched his strength, courage, and dogged determinism turn the situation from a tragedy into a miracle in the making.

Thumbs Up! A Message of Strength and Courage

“Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.” – Anonymous       

“I do not at all understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.” – Anne Lamott

Today’s message is one of courage and perspective.  It is a message that will both tug at your heart yet inspire you.  It’s a message of perspective, and how things can change in an instant. It’s a message that no amount of planning can prepare you for what life might throw your way.  But it is also a message to recognize the strength we all have inside us – if we only knew how to tap in to it. Continue reading →

Afraid of the Difficult Conversations

“We’ve all been there: We know we must talk to a colleague, our boss or even a friend about something we know will be at least uncomfortable and at worst explosive. So we repeatedly mull it over until we can no longer put it off, and then finally stumble through a confrontation when we could have had a conversation.” – Douglas Stone

Have you ever a situation where the action of one of your team members has a negative impact on the rest of the team?  You know the kind of situation I’m referring to – when one of your team members isn’t carrying their weight.  Or fails to follow through on their commitments.  Or whose behavior is offensive, disrespectful, or simply counter-productive. Continue reading →

Building an Effective Team

“There is no I in Teamwork.” – Unknown

“The ratio of We’s to I’s is the best indicator of the development of a team.” – Lewis B. Ergen

“Teamwork divides the task and doubles the success.” – Unknown

“A group becomes a team when each member is sure enough of himself and his contribution to praise the skill of the others.” – Norman Shidle

Over the last several weeks, it seems I have had occasion to talk to a number of new business owners working to grow their company.  Encouragingly, there is a growing base of business leaders interested in building organizations that accomplish something different, something more.  They have a restlessness about them – a willingness to challenge old paradigms and think outside the box.  There is no shame in their approach as they question their own judgment and learn from the lessons of others.  To borrow a phrase from my friend Mark Cahill, they are willing to “steal with pride”, and I love the prospect this foretells for the future of business. Continue reading →

Looking forward to speaking on industry trends at the ManpowerGroup Supplier Diversity Roundtable Oct 7-8. #SuppDivRTable

A Note on Supplier Diversity

What Motivates You?

“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” – Lou Holtz

“The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things in life like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people in life recognize that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson

Ever wonder what motivates people?  Why people do the things they do?  Why some are so focused on getting ahead, while others prefer continuity?  Why some pour themselves in to their work, while others find great balance in work and family life?   Or do you wonder what keeps people engaged with one organization when bigger opportunities or higher pay might exist ‘across the street’? Continue reading →

A Child’s Perspective on Business

“There is only one boss.  The customer.   And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” – Sam Walton

I recently had the privilege to speak to a group of young African American boys about leadership and what it takes to be successful.  This particular program (put together and hosted by our own Rick Rodgers) was designed to help these young boys develop the skills necessary to become tomorrow’s leaders.  It included a number of presentations with respected business leaders in the community (CEOs, CFOs, etc), as well as a group project to develop a business plan for a potential endeavor.  In short, it was a multi-day course that will no doubt enrich the lives of these young boys. Continue reading →