only the leader can make execution happen

An organization can execute only if the leader's heart and soul are immersed in the company. Leading is more than thinking big, or schmoozing with investors and lawmakers, although those are part of the job. The leader has to be engaged personally and deeply in the business. Execution requires a comprehensive understanding of a business, its people, and its environment. The leader is the only person in a position to achieve that understanding. And only the leader can make execution happen, through his or her deep personal involvement in the substance and even the details of execution.

The leader must be in charge of getting things done by running the three core processes - picking other leaders, setting the strategic direction, and conducting operations. These actions are the substance of execution, and leaders cannot delegate them regardless of the size of the organization.

How good would a sports team be if the coach spent all of his time in his office making deals for new players, while delegating actual coaching to an assistant? A coach is effective because he's constantly observing players individually and collectively on the field and in the locker room. That's how he gets to know his players and their capabilities, and how they get firsthand the benefit of his experience, wisdom, and expert feedback.

It's no different for a business leader. Only a leader can ask the tough questions that everyone needs to answer, then manage the process of debating the information and making the right trade-offs. And only the leader who's intimately engaged in the business can know enough to have the comprehensive view and ask the tough incisive questions. 

Only the leader can set the tone of the dialogue in the organization. Dialogue is the core of culture and the basic unit of work. How people talk to each other absolutely determines how well the organization will function. Is the dialogue stilted, politicized, fragmented, and butt-covering? Or is it candid and reality-based, raising the right questions, debating them, and finding realistic solutions? If it's the former - as it is in all too many companies - reality will never come to the surface. If it is to be the latter, the leader has to be on the playing field with his management team, practicing it consistently and forcefully. 

Specifically, the leader has to run the three core processes and has to run them with intensity and rigor. 

Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan 

Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan with Charles Burck. 2002. Crown Business, NY, NY. p. 24, 25

his own field of vision

Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world. This is an error of the intellect.

Arthur Schopenhauer

Unfu*k Yourself 2023 Day-to-Day Calendar: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life, by Gary John Bishop. September 13

i got this

“I got this…”

You can handle this. It’s not going to kill you. Your life isn’t over. You’ve got plenty more left in the tank. Plenty.

“I got this” doesn’t mean you have the perfect solution. It just means you have your hands on the wheel, you have a say in this just like you’ve had a say all along. I mean come on, you live for this shit!

It’s not always pretty. It’s not always fun but you’ve got this. We’re not just saying this to paper over the cracks or to make you feel a little better for a split second. Look at your track record; you’ve really got this! You’ll make it work, just like you always have. You had it then and you got it now…

I got this. I got this. I got this.

Gary John Bishop

Unfu*k Yourself: Get out of your head and into your life by Gary John Bishop. Harper One. 2017. p.91

free popsicle hotline

Darren Ross is the COO of Magic Castle Hotel in Hollywood. Built in 1957, Magic Castle isn't exactly the modern, amenity-filled experience that modern travelers are used to. As Darren says, "We don't have an elevator. We don't have a bar. We don't have a restaurant. We don't have room service. We don't have a gym. We don't have a spa. There are a lot of things we don't have that are part of our story."

There is one thing they do have: Darren. And he knows that even with all these limitations, he can still find ways to entertain his guests. 

To make Magic Castle a one-of-a-kind experience, Darren drew from his own childhood traveling experiences. He couldn't control what they didn't have, but he could create a happy, nostalgic experience full of 1950s charm.

First, they added a free snack bar filled with every kid's dream: potato chips, pretzels, popcorn, granola bars, and full-size candy bars. Then, they added a free DVDs menu, a free laundry service, a free beverage bar, and a free soft-serve ice-cream machine - where visiting kids get to choose the flavor for the day.

For me, thought, the best part of the Magic Castle experience was the free popsicle hotline. 

This ingenious idea started with poolside service on silver trays a few times a day and grew into a red phone mounted on the wall right by the pool that calls directly to the front desk. If someone picks up that phone, they receive an array of delicious popsicles, stat. Guests take their pictures with them. Kids search for the phone on check-in. As Darren says, "It's playful. It's fun. It's inexpensive for us. It's a conversation piece, and people are talking about it."

This is how scripting can help control the context. With fun waiting around every corner, guests don't focus on the facility. They focus on the value and uniqueness of the experience. 

Also, it saves Magic Castle tons in marketing costs. Darren doesn't need to spend a lot to advertise. His guests do it for him through tons of repeat business and referrals. That's how Magic Castle can keep its occupancy rate in the nineties - something unheard of for a small, independent hotel from another era.

If you want that Magic Castle magic, look at what assets you have, and ask how you can use them to entertain your future fans and create a better experience. It doesn't have to be big - just thoughtful.

Jesse Cole

Fans First: Change The Game, Break the Rules & Create an Unforgettable Experience by Jesse Cole. Lioncrest. 2022.

get humans to willingly choose another behavior

Contrary to what many consulting firms would like for you to believe (and pay for), change practitioners don’t need any special certification to be successful. At its best, change management is interdisciplinary, so a wide array of skill sets and expertise can be leveraged and successfully applied to change efforts.

The function of a change effort is to get humans to willingly choose another behavior within some institutional context. That’s it.

"Rethinking Change Management as Design," by Brittany Stone. Method. Accessed on April 13, 2023.

who we truly are

What I learned through it is that we are not on this earth to accumulate victories, or trophies, or experiences, or even to avoid failures, but to be whittled and sandpapered down until what’s left is who we truly are. This is the only way we can find purpose in pain and loss, and the only way to keep returning to gratitude and grace.

Arianna Huffington

"Why We Need Wisdom More Than Ever," by Arianna Huffington. Thrive Global. November 30, 2016. Excerpt from Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder pp. 116–130. As found in 2022 Great Quotes From Great Leaders Boxed Calendar: 365 Inspirational Quotes From Leaders Who Shaped the World.

WD > WS

Monty Williams is a man of many sayings. Some of them, like, “Well done is better than well said,” have made it onto hats. Others sneak into his answers in press conferences (“Reps remove doubt”), and still more have been relayed to Suns players so often over the past two seasons that they show up in those players’ own responses (“Preparation meets opportunity”). But there are also some staples of Williams’s lexicon that don’t count as sayings, yet may be even more indicative of how he approaches both basketball and life.

If you watched Williams’s media appearances throughout the playoffs, you found that he has no problem saying “I don’t know” in response to a difficult question; he said it 17 times during the Finals alone. You also saw that when Williams is asked something that requires perspective, he will make sure to mention how “grateful” he is or how much “gratitude” he has to be in this position—he used those words in answers 18 times during the series, including when talking about how he still gets excited when he gets fresh gear.

Six of those 18 mentions came on Tuesday night, mere minutes after Williams’s Suns had lost Game 6 of the Finals—and an NBA championship—to the Milwaukee Bucks.

“It’s a blur for me right now,” Williams said, talking about the game’s fourth quarter. “I’m just thankful that God allowed me to be in this position to be the head coach in the Finals. It hurts badly, but I’m also grateful that we had this chance to play for a championship. I’m just grateful for that part.”

Paolo Uggetti

"The Suns’ Future Is Bright, As Long As They Have Monty Williams" The Ringer. July 22, 2021

leadership that pulls

For fourteen years, my father conducted one of the country’s leading amateur Bach choirs in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For a few of those years, I played in the orchestra and had the opportunity to watch his work up close.

My father’s voice was so soft it was often hard to hear in normal conversation, and on a crowded stage, practically impossible. Yet I noticed that when he spoke during rehearsals, not a single musician ever missed a word. Why not? Because when he began speaking, they would grow so quiet a dropped pin would have sounded like the cannonfire in the 1812 Overture.

He would speak — and everyone would lean in, craning to hear his every word.

He pulled them in.

I saw the most cynical, don’t-tell-me New York union musicians turn into putty when my father made a suggestion to start this passage with an up-bow, or to take that passage sotto voce so we could more clearly hear the tenors. People would turn themselves inside out to follow him — and they would follow him anywhere.

There were two reasons for this. First was that he was superb at what he did. He knew this music inside and out; it was in his bones; it was his life.

And second? He treated them with absolute respect. He didn’t tell them what to do; he collaborated with them…

Take an ordinary window fan and place it in a window, blowing inward. Switch it on. How far can you push a column of air into the room? Not far: within a few feet it starts doubling back on itself. But now, reverse the fan’s position so that it is blowing out — and you can pull that column of air all the way from a single open window clear on the other side of the house, even hundreds of feet away.

There is leadership that pushes. And there is leadership that pulls.

How far can you push people? Only so far. How far can you pull them? An awfully long way, if your leadership style embraces total respect for those you lead as its foundation.

When that second kind of leadership speaks — even when in a voice as soft as my father’s — people listen, because they feel valued, and because of that, they trust.

That kind of leadership, we’ll follow anywhere.

John David Mann

"Leadership That Pulls," Huffpost. April 30, 2016

reading is an honor

Reading is an honor and a gift from a warrior or historian who – a decade or a thousand decades ago – set aside time to write. He distilled a lifetime of campaigning in order to have a “conversation” with you. We have been fighting on this planet for ten thousand years; it would be idiotic and unethical not to take advantage of such accumulated experiences. If you haven’t read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent, because your personal experiences alone aren’t broad enough to sustain you. Any commander who claims he is “too busy to read” is going to fill body bags with his troops as he learns the hard way. The consequences of incompetence in battle are final. History teaches that we face nothing new under the sun. 

Jim Mattis

MATTIS, J. (2019). CALL SIGN CHAOS: Learning to lead. S.l.: RANDOM HOUSE. 42

not knowing everything

Move and the way will open. – ZEN PROVERB

At the start of many important endeavors, you’ll often think: How can I do this? I don’t even know enough to begin. It’s a common excuse, and it’s often a mask for cowardice. When we say that we don’t know what to do, it’s often not information we’re lacking, but courage.

When we begin, we sometimes lack the skills, knowledge, and experience to carry out even the most basic tasks. Of course we do. If we had the experience we needed, we’d already be done.

Not knowing everything cannot be an excuse for not doing anything.

Resilience: Hard-won Wisdom for Living a Better Life by Eric Greitens. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2015. p.39, 47 

able to find those words

Rilke, in his Letters to a Young Poet, put it this way: “Do not believe that he who seeks to comfort you lives untroubled among the simple and quiet words that sometimes do you good. His life has much difficulty and sadness… Were it otherwise he would never have been able to find those words.”

Resilience: Hard-won Wisdom for Living a Better Life by Eric Greitens. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2015. p.36

I read books

You can become an expert in just about anything if you read enough books on the subject. If you don't believe me, ask Elon Musk. Whenever anyone asks him how he learned to build space-traveling rockets, this is his three-word answer: "I read books...."

Want to read your way to success yourself? Begin with a growth mindset -- the belief that your abilities are not fixed in stone but can change over time, and that you can expand and change them if you're willing to put in the effort....

And finally, put that expertise to the test. Dan Coyle, who's written several bestselling books about what makes some individuals, and some teams, more successful than others, recommends spending 30 percent of your time learning and 70 percent testing your newfound knowledge. So, to cement your expertise, test your own knowledge, preferably by trying things out in the real world.

That's what Musk did when he began building rockets, several of which crashed or went off-course before he and his team figured out how to fly them reliably. This summer, NASA trusted SpaceX rockets to send astronauts into space from the U.S. for the first time in nine years. It's a huge achievement, and it all began with a big stack of borrowed textbooks. 

Minda Zetlin

"In Just 3 Words, Elon Musk Explained How You Can Become Expert at Anything (Even Rocket Science)," Inc. Oct. 31, 2020

all that we suffer

No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. … All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable. … It is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.

Orson F. Whitney

From Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle (1972), 98, as quoted in Paul V. Johnson, "More Than Conquerors through Him That Loved Us." April 2011 General Conference.

speak, but don’t listen

[W]hen leaders assume their answer is the answer, they tend to approach change as they would a political campaign — heavy on slogans and focused on numerical targets akin to contributions and votes. The process can feel forced; people are engaged solely to be converted to the leader’s “side,” rather than to participate in a dialogue about the potential implications of the plan. Leaders speak, but don’t listen. Or they assume that a lack of feedback reflects agreement and acceptance among their constituents.

Success under this approach is typically measured by increases in compliance (“40 percent of staff have logged on to the new ERP system”) and decreases in resistance (“the number of employees indicating the new ERP system will help make their work more effective has increased by 30 percent since last quarter”). Leaders reward those who quickly conform, not realizing that these conversions often represent superficial commitments, not true allegiance or even an accurate understanding of the new way. And because hard questions are minimized, teams may comply with a change that won’t work once it gets underway.

For employees, the pressure to change without truly understanding or committing to the initiative is an unfortunate fact of organizational life. People become used to the expectation that they will limit independent thinking and suspend disbelief, regardless of the lessons of their prior experience. If employees have a few questions, that is usually acceptable, but more can invite censure or ridicule, or, in the worst cases, can be career damaging, even if such questions represent legitimate critiques or sound ideas for improvement.

Maya Townsend and Elizabeth Doty

"The road to successful change is lined with trade-offs," strategy+business. November 2, 2020.

think about hypotheticals

Gareth Tennant argues that in recent years companies have become overenamoured with predictive analytics, trying to make precise forecasts about the direction of markets. Instead, they should get involved in war-gaming, where they can discuss ideas that push the boundaries of what is possible. “The more we think about hypotheticals, the less space there is for unknown unknowns,” he says, echoing that well-known American strategist (and ex-defence secretary), Donald Rumsfeld. Corporate executives know their own business really well. But when the environment changes, experience counts for less. The answer is to apply a test and adjust the process, in a feedback cycle.

"What the armed forces can teach business." The Economist. Oct. 24, 2020

increase employee engagement

1. Hire for traits and behaviors: Usually, hiring managers look at experience and education when choosing new applicants. But, once on the job, it's attitude and actions that count. When you recruit, go through networking channels to find employees who are the most highly recommended by their prior coworkers and managers. By recruiting people who are highly engaged, you can keep the vibe in your office positive and productive.

2. Be visible and available: When employees feel abandoned by supervisors and management, they aren't as actively engaged in the workplace. Take time out of your day to be available for questions, work with the door open and be seen throughout the day. 

3. Seek employee feedback: Sometimes, your employees will have better ideas for how things should go than you do. Ask employees for feedback and you will find that they can come up with more efficient processes, new ways to engage prospects and ideas for making a happier, more exciting workplace.

4. Be flexible: Rigid policies can make people feel like their in detention instead in a job that they enjoy. If feasible, allow employees to have flexibility in their schedules or work from home. Open up social media policies or allow workers to interact with one another with an online chat to promote team cohesion. Allow a relaxed dress code for people who do not have direct customer contact, or allow a dress down day one or more day a week.

5. Recognize and reward accomplishments: When people know that their hard work is seen and appreciated, they are more likely to give it their all. Regularly recognize achievements like high sales or innovating ways of solving customer concerns. The recognition can come in the form of announcements in the company newsletter or small perks like tickets for half-days at work or a small gift certificate. 

6. Provide opportunities for employees to grow: When we do the same thing day in and day out, we get bored. Give employees new tasks that require learning and using new skills. Take time to work with employees one on one in a mentor position. And, when feasible, give employees the chance to go to conferences, classes and workshops that expand their list of skills.


Eric Roach

"6 Unexpected Ways to Boost Employee Engagement" everyonesocial.com blog. 7/22/2015

the institutional imperative

My most surprising discovery: the overwhelming importance in business of an unforeseen force that we might call “the institutional imperative.”… I thought…that decent, intelligent, and experienced managers would automatically make rational business decisions. But I learned over time that isn’t so….For example:

1. As if governed by Newton’s First Law of Motion, an institution will resist any change in its current direction
2. Just as work expands to fill available time, corporate projects or acquisitions will materialize to soak up available funds
3. Any business craving of the leader, however foolish, will be quickly supported by detailed rate-of-return and strategic studies prepared by his troops; and
4. The behavior of peer companies, whether they are expanding, acquiring, setting executive compensation or whatever, will be mindlessly imitated.

Institutional dynamics, not venality or stupidity, set businesses on these courses, which are too often misguided. 

Warren Buffett

"Warren Buffett on Business" Leading Blog. 12/21/2009

awakened leadership

Awakened leadership is reflective. When you reflect on things, you consider them from multiple angles, and think deeper about them than a superficial thought or two. Your job, position, work relationships, the industry you are involved in, the very purpose of your performance, your private or social connections, the things you say, the things you do, and those you refrain from saying and doing: reflecting on all of the above can help you understand yourself better, and make you more mindful from here onward....

Awakened leadership is the continued awareness in your thoughts, actions, and communications that: 

1. You have to make your decisions by reflecting on your lessons learned from past experiences, but even more by reflection on your wishes for the future and the possible effects these decisions will have on that. 
2. You should consider the perspectives of others, and keep an open mind to potentially different ideas, which as they may enrich your understanding, insight, and consequently, the directions you will choose going forward. 
3. You should question, even doubt, established patterns and procedures, as many of them were created when times, expectations, circumstances, goals, and mindsets, were entirely different. If you find that the old patterns and procedures still suffice, you can continue with them, but if you find that there is room for improvement or drastic change, you should implement that. 
4. You should keep in mind that, while details are important to safeguard quality in everything, you also have to keep the big picture in mind, so that you can focus on what really matters in the long run. 
5. You should make mindful leadership your new habit. Your mind is a wonderful instrument, but it has the tendency to lead you astray at every opportunity it gets. This is the time to step up in awareness and regain control over the directions your mind moves into. 

Restore your priorities in the right order, and realize the impermanence of everything, including yourself. If you can keep yourself mindful of the fact that you want to leave this world a better place than you encountered it, you have set an important step on the path to awakened leadership.

Joan F. Marques

"Awakened Leadership: A behavioral roadmap" HR.com. August 2015

know thyself

Skills and experience might land you a leadership position with a large business organization, but they don’t make you a true leader.

Leadership comes from inside—and the greatest leaders first question themselves before they tackle the world around them.

Develop an inner clarity. Understand your bright and dark sides, your personal strengths and weakness. Self-comprehension is a fundamental precondition necessary for real leadership.

In the 6th century BC Thales, one of the Seven Sages of ancient Greece, is reported to have offered the famous instruction “know thyself.”  This idea of self-inquiry as a mandatory feature of a well-lived life rapidly attained proverbial status among the Greeks.  In fact, it was even deemed worthy of inscription on the wall of Apollo’s temple at Delphi.  Sayings based on great wisdom, such as this one, all have one thing in common, regardless of the time and place where they occur: they all share one thing in common: they are encouragements to engage in conduct which is demanding and out of the ordinary but offers prospects of great reward.  Thales’ teaching is a classic illustration of this point.

Panos Mourdoukoutas

"The First Golden Rule Of Leadership" Forbes. 9/5/2015

most effective leadership development

According to a Boston Consulting Group survey... "improving leadership development" and "managing talent" are top priorities for the companies surveyed, yet the respondents--more than 4,000 senior business leaders from around the world--also ranked these two areas as their greatest weaknesses.

Debbie Lovich, the leader of BCG's Leadership and Talent Enablement Center, says the trouble is that training become separated from companies' objectives.

"Senior executives often think that they must focus on the business and delegate talent development--which they see as 'training'--to HR or someone else without continued involvement," Lovich said in a press release. "With that approach, leadership development instantly becomes disconnected from the business priorities. The training that employees receive does not develop the skills that will enable them to have a meaningful impact on colleagues, customers, and business results."

The main reasons leadership development seminars, events, or workshops do not produce results is the same reason cramming for a skills-based test doesn't result in you mastering a skill.

BCG found three main reasons leadership and talent development programs do not produce results:

1. Many companies have one-off events and workshops, but "true capability is developed over time and regularly reinforced."
2. Programs that are aimed at "broad, generic themes" like success or leadership do not help to develop specific skills. Instead, programs should focus on two or three areas that your employees can work on.
3. The success of most programs is measured by attendance and attendee satisfaction. The best way to see if a workshop was successful, however, is to assess the skills attendees developed.

"People don't develop skills from simply reading a book or going to a one-off workshop," Lovich said. "They build skills by having to do something, failing, and trying again and again."

The most effective leadership development involves daily in-the-field experience with opportunities to practice and reinforce new skills, Lovich said. Regularly practicing new skills while working helps to make training relevant to the company's business.

"A few simple things done consistently well across daily routines can drive cultural change," she said. "By teaching through practical daily routines and providing simple tools to practice and observe leadership at work, organizations can give their people a practical way to improve every day."

Will Yakowicz

"3 Reasons Leadership Training Is a Huge Waste" Inc. 10/20/2015