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Measuring Results
It is not in pounds and ounces, miles or inches. We may mark milestones. We gauge the temperature of our organizations. We consider our pace and timing. We hope we can go the distance. In a thousand ways every day, we monitor our own performance and the success of our...
Why Online Resources Add More Value Than A Kinkos Packet
In my introduction to this series, I wrote about my own experiences as a college student in the days before internet usage became widespread. An enduring memory from those days is those packets of supplemental readings that many of my professors required. After buying...
Training for Results
Last week, my two oldest daughters started school. I am adjusting to a new schedule, new routines. One goal I have personally this fall is to train for a half marathon. This summer, I ran sporadically. As a result, I am not as prepared as I would like to be to run...
The Results of Servant Leadership
I am reading an advance copy of What Leaders Believe, the newest book from Mountain State University's President, Dr. Charles H. Polk, and Dr. William White. The book compiles centuries of leadership wisdom, organized around five leadership competencies. I love the...
Partners in Success
While staying at the McDonald's campus over the weekend, I went for a run. Eventually, I found the bike path, which skirts the edge of the 88 acre property. At first, though, I wandered around, exploring the grounds. It was Friday, early morning; I dodged the cars of...
My Best Work
Last week, we published a white paper here at the LeaderTalk blog. David Burkus left a comment congratulating me on "shipping," a reference to Seth Godin's Linchpin. I have to admit to you now, as I admitted to David when he left the comment, that I haven't read the...
Seconds
In the first months of my marriage, I worked to perfect a homemade pizza crust. The first one turned out doughy. The second, overdone. The third, slightly better. Eventually, I found the right recipe and figured out both how to roll it out and what temperature worked...
Risks
Leadership is risky. When you lead others, you take relational risks. Because anytime you lead others, the context for your leadership is relationships. Relationships equal potential. In relationships with others, you can find support, encouragement, collaboration,...
Empty Seats
It's not enough to fill the seats on the bus. But if you've ever worked in an organization in which key positions remained unfilled, you know the strain those empty seats can cause. When seats are empty, it is very difficult to maintain your organization's...
The People on the Bus
I am hoping to start a preschool co-op in my new hometown. Right now, my key challenge with this start-up is finding the right people. To me, it doesn't really matter WHAT we do exactly. It's about finding a group of people that we like, who like us, who we can spend...
Trees Redux
Good news on our old oak tree: our tree expert, Michael, thinks it's strong enough to survive. Next week, his company will trim back a few dead branches. They'll also remove several live ones from directly above our roof and deck, to prevent any major damage from a...
Trees
Insects are very slowly removing the center of one of the trees in our backyard. The inside is rotting away. But it's still alive, leafy, with branches that shade a large portion of our backyard. And it's huge. My arms barely reach a third of the way around it. I'm...