Years ago, after losing more than 50 pounds of weight in six months, I participated in a short bicycle race. It was a 15-mile individual time-trial, a race where each individual competes against the clock for time. To my surprise, I was leading the race, until… …close to the finish line when I turned down the wrong road with a dead-end! Yogi Berra included this, now legendary statement, Continue →
The Greatest Leadership Gap
“Bobby, I want you to come in and ‘fix’ my people.” As I have mentored CEOs, presidents, owners, and other key leaders, this is the most common initial request that I hear. What about you? Do you ever want someone to come in and “fix” your people? Have you ever looked in the mirror and asked yourself, “I want someone to come in and ‘fix’ my people?” Take another serious look in the Continue →
I Had to Hitch a Ride from My Own Employee – For 2 Years
The unexpected death of my father left me as the young new leader of the family business. I was only 20 years old, and every one of my five employees was older than I was! To top it off, one of the first things I discovered about the business I was leading was we were $70,000 in debt and had gross revenue of less than $90,000. To pay down some of the debt, I even sold my personal car. My dad Continue →
An Uncomfortable Conversation for Any Leader
As a leader, owner, president, or CEO do you feel at times like you’re trying to swim in this ocean called “the marketplace” but you struggle to keep your head above water? Do you feel like a concrete block has been tied to your ankles, pulling down even your best efforts?” Does it seem like your results don’t reflect your hard work? Do you wonder if you are a failure? I can assure you that Continue →
Life Was Good and Then Everything Changed
The year was 1973, and life was good: I had just graduated with honors from our local state university after only three years at the age of 20. I had just concluded serving as the President of Student Government (PSG) at a university of over 4,000 students. By the conclusion of my term, I was able to lead with more Student Senate legislation approved by the University President Continue →
Engage2Lead – A Summary of Participative Leadership
As I conclude this series of several articles below, I have found completely different atmosphere exists with an Engage2Lead-sensitive leader who respects his or her subordinates and who has the good sense to seek and appreciate input from employees! When participative leaders use the 1-2-3 leadership tool, employees can enjoy being respected for sharing their ideas. They not only become Continue →
The 10 Benefits of Engagement
Recently, I have been reading about the founding of our nation and the actions of young Col. George Washington during the French and Indian War. In 1755, Col. Washington lead a group Virginians along with British troops into battle, and they suffered enormous losses. Remarkably, George Washington was the only mounted officer not shot down off his horse, and he had been quite vulnerable to Continue →
The Wonder and Wisdom of Disney
Walt Disney’s brother, Roy said, “It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” Okay, before you pass over that quote and let it flow down the river of “that’s nice, but let’s get going” I suggest we pause and think about it. Life and business can be hard. The workplace is full of challenges; the marketplace is teeming with competitors. What’s a leader to Continue →
A Tale of Two Companies
I am regularly interviewed as a FOX News Radio contributor, and a recent interview subject was about companies’ year-end bonuses. The following is a summary of my comments: Frequently, you hear of a person’s promotion, or wage increase, or a company giving out bonuses to their employees. However, the type of company they work for will determine their perspective on what they have received. Continue →
A Simple Way to Protect Your Brand Without Discouraging Your Team
One day while I was talking with a leadership team member in my company, I just happened to ask about a project assigned to one of our very creative and empowered front-line employees. Upon further investigation, we discovered that the employee was in the process of procuring tens of thousands of dollars of materials and equipment, without even asking for feedback from another coworker or approval Continue →