Resist?

“I can learn to resist
anything but temptation…
I can learn to compromise
anything but my desires…”

[Lyrics from “Resist” by the rock band Rush, written by Neil Peart]

Yes, I am a closet Rush fan, a holdover from my high school days.  A Canadian trio that wrote so many songs from my past – songs like “Tom Sawyer”, “Red Barchetta”, and “Subdivisions”.  If you grew up in the 80s you know exactly what I mean.  If you didn’t, bear with me – it’s the lyrics not the music that defined this rock band.  And this one packs a punch.

At any rate, I was on my morning run the other day when this song came across my iTunes playlist.  I often use my morning runs as an opportunity to reflect on things (that is, when I can get a run in – which isn’t nearly as much these days).  Some runs consume my thoughts with my personal life; others with work.  But they all carry a theme – allowing me the time to focus on what’s important, and what I can impact.  Continue reading →

Be the Better Person

“Or, I could be the better person…”  –  My daughter, Amanda Wright

These were the seven words my daughter said to me, words that immediately stopped the conversation and left all of the adults in the car in a shameful silence – literally!!!  Not a single one of us had a good response to these prophetic words.

My daughter’s comments came following advice we parents had given her about ‘getting even’ and ‘setting things straight’.  You see, my daughter had been the victim of hurtful behavior from one of her friends.  The type of behavior and comments you know aren’t true.  Meant only to make someone else look better or to manipulate the situation.  It was the behavior that so often occurs with teenagers.

As parents, it’s easy to get caught up in the motion of a situation like this.  Your first reaction is to come to the side of your child – to defend them – to set things straight.  “Do the same thing to her,” we suggested.  “Let her know how it feels.”

“Or, I could be the better person…”, she replied.

If only we had the wisdom of a child.  The perspective they can bring to such a situation.  The ability to put aside our feelings and draw upon the principles and values we were taught at such a young age.  I marvel at the clarity in which they can often bring to such events. Continue reading →

Truly Understanding Leadership

“Leadership is not magnetic personality; that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not ‘making friends and influencing people’, that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.” – Peter F. Drucker

As a fresh graduate entering the business world, I was immediately fascinated by the concept of leadership. An ambitious young man, I wanted to be successful. I wanted to be the best I could be. It wasn’t that I wanted to be “the boss”, but I had this unquenched desire to lead. And so throughout my career I’ve taken note of different leadership styles and approaches in the hope I could develop one of my own, stealing “with pride” the best from others. Continue reading →

Development is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

performance review“Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.” – Chinese Proverb

“The man who moved a mountain was the one who began carrying away small stones.” – Chinese Proverb

It’s that time of the year again, the time in which managers sit down with their team members and provide feedback on their respective performance over the prior year.  And while these reviews should merely be a confirmation of performance feedback that management provides throughout the year, they are an opportunity for a deeper discussion on the impact of that performance and the trajectory it foretells for us as individual contributors.

Understanding one’s performance in the recent past is always helpful.  But what I’ve found to be more important in these reviews are the discussions around professional development – the opportunity it provides for each individual to establish a formal development plan and improve their performance as a member of the team while positioning them for future growth as an individual.  Continue reading →

Change Your Reality

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge…” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

NOTE:  In honor of Martin Luther King Jr., on the anniversary of his birthday, I wanted to use his quotes to set up this leadership message.  The equal rights movement lead by Dr. King will forever shape the world.  But his teachings and the wisdom he shared through them are just as impactful.

Several of you have asked about the status and progress of my father’s recovery, so I thought I would provide an update while offering the lessons I have gained through this progress.  For reference sake, my father was involved in an accident in October of 2013 – one in which the prognosis was grim.  He suffered a cranial hemorrhage, the type that requires surgeon’s to remove part of your skull to relieve the pressure.  This type of injury is similar to a massive stroke in that your brain sits in a pool of blood for a period of time before the pressure can be relieved.  It can literally drown parts of the brain.

The result of the accident and the cranial hemorrhage left him initially paralyzed on the left side of his body.  That was the reality we faced once he came out of his coma.  Frankly, just the fact that he survived the ordeal was enough for us.  Paralysis or not, I still had my father and I was beyond grateful.

But this isn’t a message about accepting a new reality.  It’s a message about strength.  About courage.  About commitment.  And about recognizing the new reality, but the determination to change it. Continue reading →

What is Your New Year’s Resolution?

“Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.” – [Henry Hancock]

“The common denominator of success – the secret of success of every man who has ever been successful – lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don’t like to do.” – [Albert Grey]

“Successful people form habits that feed their success, instead of habits that feed their failure.” – [Jeff Olson]

It’s that time of the year.  Time to leave the past behind and look ahead to the future.  With the New Year come new opportunities.  A chance to set new goals.  A chance to change bad habits.  A chance to do something different. Continue reading →

In Need of Some Down Time!

“I don’t know – he travels a lot and talks to people!” – [My daughter, Amanda Wright, when asked at school ‘what does your father do for a living’]

I’ve been called a lot of things in my professional career, but a “Traveling Talksman” is not one of them.  And as wonderful a job as that sounds, it’s nothing like what I do.  But it does send a clear message to me – I’m spending too much time on the road and too little time with my family.  Time for a much needed break!!!

You’ve often heard me speak of the importance of work/life balance.  The problem is I’m the worst hypocrite on this topic.  I spend nearly every week traveling somewhere (and no it’s not just to talk to people).  That takes me away from my family.  And that is not a good thing. Continue reading →

The ‘Softer’ Skills are Just as Important…Maybe Even More

“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think” – Albert Einstein

“No great improvements in the lot of mankind are possible until a great change takes place in the fundamental constitution of their modes of thought.” – John Stuart Mil

As I write this week’s leadership message, I sit 30,000 feet above the ground on a flight to Washington D.C.  I’ve been invited to participate in a series of workshops tomorrow with The Hope Street Group, an initiative chaired by the U.S. Department of Education that strives to bring together the right institutions towards the common goal of developing tools and solutions at the complex intersection of workforce supply and demand.  In other words, The Hope Street Group wants to develop a better way for our country to both understand the specific skills needs of our employers while bridging the gap for the development of the proper skills of potential job candidates in our communities. Continue reading →