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)
Leadership
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. During that academic year, I helped my fraternity win both the Scholarship and Intramural Sports trophies. I (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)
Principled Profits – Outward Success Is an Inside Job
It is finally here – my new book, Principled Profits - Outward Success Is an Inside Job officially releases today! Click here to read the press release. It’s been a long time coming. Hundreds of hours of effort. A labor of love for sure. Principled Profits contains what I found to be the essential principles of effective leadership. Do you want to lead your family, team, or entire (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)
Do You Think Like a Manager or a Leader?
Regardless of your title, do you think more like a manager or a leader? What is the mindset of a manager? What is the mindset of a leader? These are good questions, and often, people get confused about this topic of managing vs. leading. One of my favorite quotes from Peter F. Drucker can bring more clarity to this matter: “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the (Continue)