“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.” – John F. Kennedy (September 1962)

Check out this Washington Post article about how Mark Murphy, CEO of Leadership IQ, helps his employees set hard goals for themselves, and how this has … read more

About a month ago, I had the opportunity to spend a whole day with Marines.  And it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life.  I’ve always felt a lot of respect for Marines, and although I had met several in my lifetime, most of my impressions of the Marines came from ads and news stories. I expected a group of men and women who exhibited behaviors consistent with the Marines’ values of “honor, courage and commitment”.  Through a jam-packed day…from 7AM to 11PM, I learned … read more

Everyone knows that Google is one of the most creative companies out there.  We love the morphing logo that celebrates St. Patrick’s Day, New Year’s and other special occasions.  Admittedly, Google has been a household name, world-wide, for a decade, but I thought it was still a bold move…and one that suits Google’s culture…to change their name to Topeka for April Fool’s Day.  (If you haven’t heard the story, Topeka, Kansas unofficially re-named their city for a month in hopes of being one of … read more

Last week at my Vistage meeting we had a fabulous speaker named Barry Deutsch.  He’s an expert in hiring the right people for companies using an outcome-based system.  He said that there are three key indicators to a stellar employee…demonstration of leadership, a track record of excellence, and their ability to adapt. 

 Just because a person has done a job well at another company does not mean that they will have the ability to do the job well at your company.  The obstacle?  Cultural fit.  How well the candidate … read more

I recently had the opportunity to watch a new reality show on CBS called “Undercover Boss”.  For those that missed the premiere of this CBS reality show, the premise is that CEO’s and chief executives of large corporations “leave the comfort of their corner office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their company.” The first episode highlighted the President and C.O.O. of Waste Management out in the trenches working the garbage shifts alongside his employees.    Admittedly, the show … read more