What I’m Thinking About: Moving from “I Should” to “Who Could…?” Recently, Dan and I met with a client whose company is experiencing tremendous growth. The owner understands that implementing system, processes and structure will facilitate scalability and profitability. Warm, friendly, happy and positive, he started the meeting by saying “I should be better at creating systems and structures. But honestly, I hate it. I feel sick when I have to do that kind of work.” I quickly

What I’m Thinking About: Look Good I dress nicely for meetings. Maybe not formal “suit and tie” nice but in clothing that is flattering, fits well, includes bright colors, and is neither overdressed or underdressed for the situation. Clothes are wrinkle-free, in good repair, and reflect my personal and professional style. Name brand or no brand is fine. No grunge clothes, leggings, yoga pants – I’m not exercising or doing yard work, I’m doing professional work in an office en

What I’m Thinking About: Sick Culture, Sick Business “This place makes me ill.” “We have a toxic culture.” “This place is dead.” “We’re dying on the vine.” ‘Profits are in the toilet.” “People are sick of working here.” Heard these at work before? I have. I’ve even said some of them. If this is what employees are saying at work, imagine what they are saying outside of work! And what they’re posting on social media… Does this affect the market place? You bet. As a business cho

What I’m Thinking About: Democratic Leadership Style “A democratic leadership style is an open approach to leading, where decision making is shared and the views of a team or group are valued and contribute to the vison, goals and decision that are made. The Greek roots of the word democratic suggest people are participating in power or control.” (www.defining-leadership.com/democratic-leadership-style) In an organization led by a democratic leader, decisions are based upon m

What I’m Thinking About: Paternal Leadership Style In an organization led by a paternal leader, a “dominant male applies his organizational power to lead a group. The leader follows a fatherly managerial approach where he uses his position to control, guard, punish and reward his subordinates or followers, who are expected to remain faithful to him.” (Reference.com) Many organizations have a male in a leadership role whose style is paternalistic. A paternalistic leader may di

What I’m Thinking About: Organizations in the Dark So many business people that Dan and I meet are in the dark about how to create a profitable, scalable business. Employees don’t know the direction in which the organization is headed. Neither do the leaders. The organizational leaders don’t have a big picture of the company’s potential. Some are worried about just keeping the lights on! Why You Might Be Thinking About This: Leaders Shine a Light By looking past the day-to-da

What I’m Thinking About: Paint a Picture of Success My business partner, Dan Long, is a big picture thinker. He’s great at visualizing success and connecting with people and businesses that are winners or ready to be winners. A visual guy and a story teller, Dan finds graphics and stories that relate relevant business lessons in a colorful way. He helps business owners see their business from a bigger perspective and paint a vision for the organization in broad strokes. Then

What I’m Thinking About: Negative Nellies Making Too Much Noise Ingratitude often sounds like “I don’t know why I have to do that. It’s so boring.” “We have a dress code. It’s so stupid.” “My computer is so old. It’s like 4 years old.” “We have to start work at 7:15 a.m. I’ve got to find another job.” “We wear the ugliest uniforms.” “I’m on call this weekend. I hate having to check in 3 times a day.” And on and on. And on. Grumbling drowns out the good that happens in the wor

What I’m Thinking About: Older Leaders, Outdated Leadership Style In America, we now have 5 generations in the workforce: Greatest Gen, Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. Each has its own “personality” and expectations for workforce behavior and leadership styles. The Greatest Gen and Boomers are the “old dogs” in the workforce and were raised with, responded to and often repeated a negative autocratic style: “My way, no highway!”, “If I wanted your opinion, I’d have giv

What I’m Thinking About: Going in the Right Direction Business planning is all about deciding to move forward in the “right” direction. When working with businesses, Dan and I help the business leaders envision the future and a big part of that is deciding what “right” looks like. What percentage of profit does an organization needs to make? Who or what is the “right” customer? When is the “right” time to introduce a new product or service? These are decisions that help a bus

What I’m Thinking About: Weeds Get in the Way of Growth This week I spent about 8 hours pulling weeds out of garden areas. Weeds grow shallow roots and spread quickly, taking up the space and energy needed for plants with deeper roots need to prosper. As my fingers worked the soil, my mind worked through client issues rooted in negative thoughts and behaviors that prevented organizational growth. And I realized that pulling weeds is a necessary, albeit time consuming and ofte

What I’m Thinking About: The Left Hand Doesn’t Know What the Right Hand is Doing Frequently overheard from business leaders: “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do when employees… - are often late - don’t wear appropriate clothing - don’t turn in receipts - accept gifts from vendors - check social media or game on company time - don’t respond to customer requests quickly - are called for military leave - get jury duty - ask about benefits - want to work from home” Without guid

What I’m Thinking About: No Forward Movement Means Moving Backwards Dan and I worked with a client whose business was really struggling. The employees were excited to be part of the determining how to create positive change and setting time-driven goals to implement change. The employee engagement was tangible. During planning meetings, however, the owner’s facial expression and body language fluctuated between disinterested and angry. And he regularly expressed doubts about

What I’m Thinking About: Business Fixer Uppers At a recent business breakfast, a man asked for my business card. He’d heard about how Dan and I help business leaders move their organizations forward in an inclusive, forward-looking, positive way. His business was “loaning” C-Suite quality business people– Financial Officer, Executive Officer, Operations Officers, etc. – to companies with a temporary position vacancy. “I heard you do business rehab. I know people who could use

What I’m Thinking About: Mission Confusion Means Execution Confusion In 2018, I met with a small technology company team to help them build a stronger business model. After six years in business, the technology company was surviving not thriving. After hearing about what the company did - the revolutionary product they offered - I asked each of the four talented members of the company to write down the mission statement. I got four different statements. Even on a little team,