Recently, I read a famous story told by James Clear: “By 1918, Charles M. Schwab was one of the richest men in the world. Schwab was the president of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, the largest shipbuilder and the second-largest steel producer in America at the time. The famous inventor Thomas Edison once referred to Schwab as the ‘master hustler.’ He was constantly seeking an edge over Continue →
Personal Development
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 →
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 →
Plan your Best Summer Vacation Ever!
Good things happened when we asked our two older sons, who had already married, and our youngest son, who was near finishing college, to help plan a holiday vacation! Specifically, we asked them to get involved in the decision-making process to find a common place where everyone could meet for a family vacation during Thanksgiving. Continue →
What Do Chili Dogs Have To Do With Success?
As a young boy, Saturdays were my special days. Often, my dad would take me to lunch at a tiny downtown café where the specialty was chili dogs. I always had mine with cheese, onions, and extra mustard. To this day, those were the best chili dogs I have ever eaten. Continue →
Three Bold Predictions for 2017
I try to stay out of the prediction business. It’s a prescription for inevitable failure. Think about the weatherman. He’s right about half the time only because he’s wrong the other half! Peter Drucker expressed it this way, “Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window.” That said, I’ve got three bold Continue →
What Are Your Dreams for 2017?
Recently, a friend and I were talking about setting goals for the new year. One of my questions to him was, “What do you dream to accomplish in 2017?” He replied, “That’s a good question”, then paused for a while and eventually said “I can’t answer your question, because I don’t know what I would dream to accomplish this year. I really have not thought about it!” Continue →
Lone Ranger Decision-Making
For years I was “Mr. Idea Man” in our company. But that was my job, wasn’t it? As the leader of the company, I thought it was my duty to generate the ideas and map out how to implement them. Eventually, I learned that there was a better way to lead my team. I discovered a method for increasing innovation and managing change at the same time. Continue →
My Most Public Bad Decision
Have you ever made a bad decision? I have made many, but one stands out in my mind because it was a very public decision. I’ve thought quite a bit about what went wrong. Although at first it wasn’t obvious, I have discovered the root cause, which is present in many of our bad decisions. Continue →
Does Anyone in America Remember the High Road?
Watching the recent Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates and all of the political advertising has caused me to wonder why our culture has come to not only expect but also accept taking of the “low road”? Continue →