I've been hearing a lot about process and procedures. NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell is assembling a binder full of women to look at his sports league's process and procedures. I guess his thinking is that if they had a different step-wise process then they would have...
Once upon a time, I found over $100,000 of fluff in my condo association's budget proposal. I wasn't a board member. I wasn't on the budget and finance committee. I was "just" a co-owner--and I was mad. I hadn't paid a lot of attention to the budget until then, but I...
No one would call me an introvert. I'm the person who will almost always choose the room where I know no one over the room where everybody knows your name. All that moving around the world growing up made me comfortable talking with strangers. But I also have the...
"Rhodes Scholars are chosen not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements, but for their character, commitment to others and to the common good, and for their potential for leadership in whatever domains their careers may lead." Patrick Witt played a...
It's impossible to ignore what happened at Penn State. Which is ironic since Penn State officials, impossibly, chose to ignore what was happening. This was a massive failure on many levels. Here are four leadership lessons: 1. Leadership is about making tough...
I've always been fascinated by people-powered movements. (Heck, I even took on class on them in graduate school.) That point where people decide they're done sitting by. They've had enough. They break through the fear barrier. Or the paralysis barrier. Or just the...
I heard yesterday that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is going to spend $15,000 to hire a consultant to provide leadership training. The reason: apparently some senior managers don't play well with each other. Now, WMATA has a lot of...
There was an interesting conversation about thought leadership on #profschat the other day around what it is, what it means, where it fits into an organization’s priorities, who “owns” it, and how to execute a successful thought leadership strategy. And it got me...
Did you see what happened when Michael Vick came into the Eagles-Packers game in Week 1? The team got excited. Vick's past character issues aside, this is a talented guy who can lead a team. As soon as he came into the game, the Eagles perked up. They had energy and a...
Check out this terrific interview with Saks CEO Stephen Sadove in the New York Times. He talks about mentors, valuing people, focusing on processes, and what it takes to be a successful leader. For example: "I grew up in a world of lots of interesting people, and you...