Great leaders are not just willing to speak the truth, they’re willing to accept it. Comfortable or uncomfortable. Truth can be a motherhood statement. Of course we all want it, don’t we ? After all, we’re honest, aren’t we? There’s a reason that insecure leaders avoid uncomfortable truth – if…
137. How do you know where you are?
Teams are capable of achieving great things. They are also capable of getting horribly lost. As individuals we all have blind-spots, but when a whole team has the same blind spot they are likely heading for danger. Teams who adhere to a view, or an objective, and ignore anything that…
136. Where is the truth?
Finding out what’s true is tricky, it takes effort. Our brains have a neat way of avoiding that effort. We just decide what’s true in advance. We store those “truths” away and grab them quickly when we need a quick answer. We take shortcuts, make assumptions, apply labels, follow brands.…
135. Why be Honest with yourself?
Great leaders are honest with themselves. Whether they are truthful to others or not, they don’t allow themselves to be fooled by their own perceptions and allusions. I’m not sure if such honesty can be taught, but it certainly can be practiced. Honesty starts with yourself, as a habit you…
101. How did you get here?
When my children were small, we sometimes played a driving game. I would drive from our house and the kids would decide which way to go at every intersection. Turn left turn right go straight u turn… We had a lot of laughs, the kids loved being in control, and…
96. How do you view your world?
The world is a complicated place. The only way we can make sense of it is by simplifying it down. We create a worldview that’s a representation of the real world. A simplified model. And we all have a different world view… The same is true in smaller groups like…
93. Do you get out of your box?
The problem with Data is it doesn’t play favorites. It can give you answers you don’t want to hear. That’s why autocratic governments are obsessed with gathering all the information they can get and controlling what information is shared. You don’t have to be a malicious autocrat to misuse data.…
90. Are you Efficient?
Efficiency is a key leadership challenge. How to achieve what you need to do at the lowest cost. Your challenge as a leader who has to manage costs is the struggle between what you say you want (lower costs), and all the other things you really want. Not just obvious…
10. What you see is what you get.
Napoleon Bonaparte, arguably one of the most successful military leaders in history, owed part of his success on the battlefield to his ability to choose a place to fight. When he could, he fought where he could see the whole battlefield, and then positioned himself so that he could see.…