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The Disruption
CEO, Try Thy Hiring System
How does your company hire? I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the surprisingly ugly hiring processes in my career. From the HR email mix-ups to the interviewer watching the World Series while I responded to his questions, I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about an organization simply by examining the hiring experience. Are you chasing away the kind of people you need at your company?
What is Leadership?
What is it, exactly, that great leaders do? There are plenty of overused adages about “leadership” in business. It’s worth examining the tropes around leadership, plus the traits of the leaders who actually leave a mark. Great leaders are forged through adversity, and they leave a legacy. What does that look like in your organization?
Yes, We Are a Country (Team) Divided
The most clear-cut result of this election has been that we are divided as a country. I’m not going to discuss the why’s of either side. However, it’s urgent to talk about how to lead an organization full of people whose worldviews look completely different. As a leader, you have to get all these people to pull together, support each other, and achieve more as a team than they can individually. There are two fundamental ways to lead: Divide people, or Unite people.
Oh Boy, Does the U.S. Need Infrastructure!
When I first arrived in the United States, I couldn’t stop staring: why have Americans hung electrical wires from poles along the road, instead of burying them underground like other countries? The history of our infrastructure is actually fascinating. Everything from American waterways to why the U.S. is falling behind with electric cars can be traced back to infrastructure. Investments in infrastructure ripple across the economy, domestically and globally.
I’m So Tired
“I’m so tired.” This is our common refrain right now, from CEOs to across the work spectrum. Why is everyone tired? Three things in particular: Zoom fatigue, long hours, and our COVID environment. Fatigue is, unfortunately, our default operating mode right now. The sooner we name the mental drain, the sooner we can address it. How do you combat it, in your life and in your organization?
Want to be a great athlete, I mean business leader?
What do you have in common with a professional athlete? If you’re an effective business leader, there’s actually quite a bit of overlap. Training, coaching, and competitive intelligence determine who is successful both in sports and in industry. From skills development to the role of a coach, business leaders have lessons to learn from athletes.
2021 Ahead! Are you ready?
COVID is an accelerant. Whatever were the major trends were in your industry at the end of 2019, take them forward ten years, and that is where the industry is now! As we look toward 2021: where are you and where should you be?
Are We Driving (the best) Half of Our Workforce Away?
I didn’t watch the VP debate (honestly, I am on a diet forbidding alcohol, so it was not an option). However, the ensuing coverage has me thinking about the reality of sexism in the US.
COVID continues to accelerate changes in business models
COVID is changing business behavior forever. CEOs are changing leadership styles, companies are more inwardly focused, and many companies are pivoting to stay afloat. Huge changes are taking place in time scales that previously were unthinkable. However, this work is coming at a cost to employees. There is a huge disconnect between management and employees on how the company is dealing with them. That needs to be addressed.
Are we losing (the best) half of our workers?
COVID is causing women to leave the workforce at four times the rate of men. This trend has negative consequences for women, businesses, the economy, and the country. Prior to COVID, women accounted for just over 50% of the workforce, but that number has fallen. Fallen employment opportunities and salaries will discourage women from rejoining or entering the workforce. However, they now account for the majority of our undergraduates, law school and medical school graduates. Thus we could lose our best and brightest. We need adjust
The stimulus has ended; what does that mean for the economy?
The CARES Act Stimulus has ended, and the improvement in unemployment is slowing. Two-thirds of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending! As aid ends and more people run out of savings and credit, consumption will slow. Slowing consumption affects every sector of the economy. Falling spending will hamper any recovery, and Congress needs to act if you want a better 2021.
Are We At the Top?
The stock market has corrected some, but things are still frothy in the financial world. Unfortunately, when things are frothy, the economic forces of gravity come into play at some point, and the pain ensures. Why do I think things are at the top?
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