Years ago, several of our moving trucks began to show their age and required a significant amount of maintenance. It was time to shop for replacement trucks. Instead of making an executive decision and informing the rest of the team after the fact, we pulled the drivers and crew members together to talk about buying new trucks. And what followed was amazing… (Continue)
Leadership
The Effectiveness Quotient
I don’t think I had ever contemplated either of my parents dying – that is until my father died when I was 20 and left me in charge of our struggling family business. Dad’s death came as a shock, and in the early days, I struggled to adjust to my new roles and responsibilities. However, the situation did force me to develop my leadership abilities as fast as possible - and that led to an import (Continue)
House Rules
Leading a family resembles leading a team in the workplace. To lead our “home team”, my wife and I made specific decisions about how we would teach and guide our boys. (Continue)
Good News, Bad News (and Great Outcomes)
Years ago, I rolled out some good news to our leadership team. My voice and verbal pace quickened (as much as possible, for a Texas boy) as I shared my exciting news with them, “We’ve just purchased eight acres, including some existing facilities that we’ll transform into our new offices!” After some positive feedback and some clarifying Q&A, they soon began to think about the associated (Continue)
Are You Tired of Trying to Know It All?
Do you feel like you’re drowning is a sea of change that surrounds your business? The grocery and apparel (usually known as “fast fashion”) sectors are experiencing this warp-speed change, and much of it is driven by how consumers are buying online. I have found that my own buying habits have changed significantly, just over the last couple of years. (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)
The Key to Great Workplace Culture
Building a great workplace culture is not about what you get. But what you give! It is not what you get from your employees. It is what you give to your people. Prior to me selling my company of over 150 employees to a publicly-traded company, it was rare that we ever used the word, “culture”. And it was even rarer that we spoke the words, “employee engagement”. (Continue)
Every CEO Wants Three Things
There are three things every CEO wants. They wake up thinking about these three things, they go to sleep thinking about them, and pretty much every moment in between is consumed with the same three things. (Continue)
More Engagement Means More Learning
Have you ever heard the statement, “The teacher learns more than his students”? For over 30 years, I have been teaching high school boys at my church. And I’ve been surprised by how much I have learned just in my preparation time, and how much I’ve retained–long after the lesson is taught. And the same holds true for business: more engagement means more learning. (Continue)
A Simple Way to Empower Your Team
I love to study trends in business. And two trends are clear: operating a business has grown increasingly complex, and the organizational structure of companies has become more flat, requiring greater transparency. (Continue)
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