Prisons are a little more complicated form of punishment than most people realize. Prisons use physical walls to separate inmates from each other and society. Prisoners are not just socially isolated, they’re separated from people they trust. Prisons are mental punishment. Keeping a person in isolation isn’t just about keeping…
94. Are you Lucky?
I worked with a group of people once who each pooled $5 every week to buy lottery tickets. They were happy talking and dreaming about what they would do if they won, but they never won the big one. They hoped they’d get lucky, but never did. It’s true that…
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.…
92. Do you like Attention?
Getting attention feels good. It releases Dopamine in your brain to stimulate your “reward center”. So does completing a task, or achieving a goal. Therein lies a problem that leaders have to deal with. Another game that leaders have to play. The problem is that getting attention can be easier…
91. Are you Perfect?
The Project Triangle hides an important leadership lesson. Put simply, the Triangle says you have 3 objectives when completing a task. You can have it good, fast or cheap. Pick any two. You can’t have all 3. Good and fast = not cheap Good and cheap = not fast Fast…
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…
89. Are you safe?
Employee engagement is not a “soft” topic. It’s hard work. Being nice is not enough. There are plenty of friendly, agreeable leaders with deeply unhappy teams, who have failed to deliver results. One reason for those “nice failures” is that friendliness and fairness alone don’t create engagement. Engagement doesn’t just…
88. Do you hide behind rules?
Discipline is important, but only when it helps achieve an outcome. Making the best decisions is important too. Making decisions is a key responsibility of leadership. Using rules to enforce compliance can be a way of avoiding hard decisions. Your decision to go against the “rules” can define your leadership.…
87. Do you pay Attention to Detail?
The world is made of somebody’s work Leadership isn’t an abstract topic, it’s a contact sport. Contact between what the leader thinks and does, and what those in the team think & do. Between what you think and what they do… If you’re not making contact are you leading, or…
86. Are you Decisive ?
“More is lost by indecision than wrong decision. Indecision is the thief of opportunity. It will steal you blind…” Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman Statesman, 106-43BC Leaders are paid to make decisions. How they make them matters. An indecisive leader isn’t just slow, they’re uncertain, and likely uncommitted. Maybe afraid of…