Break the Plateau by Challenging One Limiting Belief
I spent 5 years researching why high achievers plateau at work. It's rarely a skills problem. It's usually a belief problem. Here are the usual suspects: → "I need more preparation." (Meanwhile, less-qualified people raise their hand.) → "Never show weakness." (Meanwhile, you lose real connection and support.) → "Never say no." (Meanwhile, your priorities get shredded.) → "I'm too introverted to lead." (Meanwhile, you self-select out of growth.) → "My intensity is my strength." (Meanwhile, your team quietly burns out.) → "I need more information." (Meanwhile, the market moves on.) If you want to break the plateau: Pick ONE belief. For 7 days, behave as if the opposite is true. Don't wait for confidence. Create evidence, and confidence follows. Which one hit you hardest?
ERP Vendors Overlook True Change Management Essentials
Most ERP vendors barely touch organizational change management, focusing only on basic training and comms. True OCM requires internal alignment, stakeholder & executive buy-in, impact assessment, and detailed frontline communication. #ChangeManagement #ERP #BusinessTips https://t.co/JD42Mz9YVh
Rename ‘Soft Skills’ as Structural Skills to Boost Budgets
Stop calling them 'soft skills.' Decision-making, role clarity, conflict mediation, and structural design are the hardest skills in any organization. They're 'soft' only because we've underinvested in teaching them. Rename them: structural skills. Watch the budget appear.
Family Firms' “Surname Ceiling” Blocks Top Executive Talent
If you’re an ambitious executive, would you join a family business or family office knowing there’s a "surname ceiling" above you from day one? At the weekend, the FT explored the reality that many family-controlled firms still struggle to attract top...
Professional Learning Should Directly Boost Student Outcomes
“Teachers aren’t scared of change. They are scared of wasting time on things that make no significant impact in their classrooms.” In an upcoming blog post, I reflected on this quote and shared a few thoughts. When developing professional learning, does it...
Virtue Bragging Erodes Leaders' Likability Among Subordinates
FWIW - Ironically, the more those at the very top extol their virtues the less likable they are likely to become to those at the bottom. Why? Because implicit in their virtues is a sense of extreme certainty and control those below...
Think Systemically, Not Locally, to Reach CSCO
Can a Warehouse Manager become a Chief Supply Chain Officer? I have been asked this question more times than any other in my career. Here is the honest answer: Yes. But only if you stop thinking like a warehouse manager. The CSCO thinks in...
Boardrooms Must Address Success’s Existential Risk
"The Intelligence Paradox: Why Boardrooms Must Confront the Existential Risk of Success", by Dez Blanchfield @dez_blanchfield https://t.co/tXZm22acrV
Spot Real Growth, Avoid Disguised Distractions
#TimTalk - How can a founder distinguish between a “growth opportunity” and a “distraction in disguise”? with Jad Atwe https://t.co/qbSSvZj1IH via @DLAIgnite #SocialSelling #DigitalSelling #Sales #SalesLeader #Leadership #Culture #Marketing #Success #Mindset #Entrepreneur #Management
Present Solutions, Not Just Problems, to Accelerate Progress
This. My biggest complaint has been people coming to me with problems but no idea of a solution. You’ll go 100x further and faster if you present a problem with a solution. Or even better just implement the solution and create...
Clarify Decision Rights to Eliminate Unnecessary Meetings
End-of-week diagnostic: Look at your calendar last week. Find the meeting that should not have happened. Ask: why did it? Nine times out of ten, that meeting existed because a decision right was unclear. Fix the structure once. Get the meetings back forever.
EOS Turns Chaos Into $77M, 15‑Company Portfolio
Sid is a strong believer in EOS and was one of the first people to recommend Traction by Gino Wickman to me. He has effectively integrated EOS across his business, helping him scale the firm into a portfolio of 15 companies...
Choosing Quality of Life Over Revenue Transformed My Business
My brick and mortar office. I have been in business 13 years and I have had employees and offices for 9 of them. I closed it, downsized from 12 employees to 2 and made them remote, sold my house in...
Strategy Is Simple; Execution Is the Real Challenge
I was brought in to help with strategy. I ended up coordinating a global transformation during an industry crisis. ~200 days/year on sites around the world. That’s where I learned: strategy is easy. Execution is hard. #Kaihan #Outthinker #Strategy #Leadership #Execution https://t.co/voXUrgk6D8
Founders Spark Sales, Then Hire Process Experts
Yes, founder-led class at the beginning is crucial. You sell based on expertise and excitement, and you learn about the market. However also founders are notoriously terrible at building repeatable sales processes for muggles to follow, even if they're wonderful at...
High Talent Density Prevents AI-Driven Missteps
another case for more talent density in teams and FAR MORE alignment than usual in companies: AI’s ability to let you go super duper fast in the total wrong direction. seen this with a few startups - still hard to make...
Regularly Reassess Team Fit; Past Success Doesn't Guarantee Future Fit
Firing people is never fun, but you have to constantly reevaluate whether all of your team members are the best fit for not only your company but the role that they are in at this point in time. Often, people...
Dream Big: Attract Talent with a Grand Vision
You need a vision big enough for your team's goals to fit inside. If your dream is too small, no one talented can connect their ambition to yours. Build something worth joining.
Disney's New CEO Tackles Cuts, Reputation Rebuild
Disney’s New CEO Starts With Job Cuts And A Corporate Reputation To Rebuild via @forbes https://t.co/ryNi7YLPQu
Three Leader Types Powering Digital Innovation
3 types of leaders that drive #Digital #Innovation by Beth Stackpole @MITSloan Learn more: https://t.co/2fCgM9BDWz #DigitalTransformation #Technology #TechForGood https://t.co/T3uO7jG3nj
Excusing Antisocial Behavior Destroys Your Company, Fire Protectors
The people in your organization who excuse antisocial behaviors are just more mild versions of this woman. They are sowing the seeds of the destruction of your company. Fire them AND the antisocial people they protect.
Peer Mastermind Boosted Revenue 50% in One Month
Shawn Lemon was buried in operations. Running everything. Doing everything. Stuck in the weeds of his own business. The AI Business Lab® Mastermind gave him something no course or tool could: a room full of peers who pushed him to make...
AI Rewards Self‑Automation Over Traditional Team Management
The way people are getting paid is changing. For the last 20 years, comp scaled with scope. You managed more people, owned a bigger team, carried more responsibility, and got paid more. AI changes that. A director who uses AI to get the...
Europe’s Career Ladder Forces Engineers Into Unwanted Management
A good read and unfortunately rings true for too many EU-HQ'd companies: "the expectation that in Europe the transition from individual contributor to a managerial track is the "natural" career progression" For a standout tech company you want SOME eng > managers...
Leadership Authority Shifts to AI‑Savvy Employees
One leader reflected “My authority used to come from knowing more than everyone else. Now the person I hired six months ago understands our Al-embedded tools better than I do” #artificialintelligence
Leaders Chase Growth, Dodge Tech, Crave Nonexistent Easy Button
Leaders intuitively dive deep into acquisitions and new markets, but shy away from tech projects. They relegate responsibility instead of taking a hands-on approach, hoping for an 'easy button' that doesn't exist. #Leadership #TechProjects https://t.co/tCUGH7PMoB
EOS Drives Success: Right People, Real‑Time Scorecards
Seen EOS used by so many 7-, 8-, 9-figure holdco builders, including many former podcast guest. Finally started reading, 10 minutes in: 1. The right people in the right seats (are all of your people the right ones for their jobs?) 2....
Aspiring CIOs Must Explain IT Initiatives' Business Value
RT How are IT's key initiatives delivering business value? > A question every aspiring CIO should be prepared to answer #CIO @Star_CIO https://t.co/NWuOLnCtg4
Stop Waiting for Permission—Fix It Yourself
Nobody is coming to fix what you already know how to fix. Not a mentor. Not a better hire. Not a new tool. Not a course. Not a mastermind. Most people already know the one thing that would change everything. They just keep...
Turn Business Mistakes Into Paid “Mistake Dividends”
I can quickly name a handful of strategic mistakes I’ve made in the last year trying to scale my business: ...
Hobbyist Passion Keeps Founders Working Past Profit
It's an unimpressive-sounding word, but one of the most powerful motivations is the motivation of the hobbyist. That's what keeps successful founders working on their companies long past the point when they've made enough to quit. It's their beloved project.
Office Value Lies in Trust, Not Nostalgia
𝗦𝗶𝘅 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗙𝗛… 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗿. The return-to-office debate often misses the real question. It is not: “Home or office?” It is: “Does this way of working make people better?” If the office creates trust, creativity, faster...
AI Forces Managers Into Hybrid Strategy-Execution Roles
So my EA bot sends me a summary of my emails , creates draft responses so I can edit but also sends me industry insights This morning it said - AI is reshaping the management role: Airbnb's CEO publicly stated...
Fractional Executives Mask, Not Solve, Structural Gaps
Hot take: The 'fractional executive' trend is sometimes a structural alignment band-aid. Companies are renting clarity they should be building. Sometimes that's the right call. Often it's deferring the harder work of designing roles that don't depend on a hero.
How a CEO, Sting, Secured a Seven‑figure Deal
The CEO, the Sting, and the Seven-Figure Deal by @Timothy_Hughes https://t.co/35eooKOvFX @DLAIgnite #SocialSelling #DigitalSelling #Sales #SalesTips #SalesLeader #Salesforce #Leadership #Marketing #MarketingStrategy #MarketingSuccess #SalesEnablement https://t.co/O0wsMf86TV
Think Long-Term, Not Short-Term, for Tough Decisions
The best ‘MIND HACK’ I’ve learned for making hard decisions is to shift from thinking short term, and start thinking long term.
Careers Evolve when Jobs Match Strengths and Challenge
The evolutionary process is about discovering people's likes and dislikes as well as their strengths and weaknesses; it occurs when people are put into jobs they are likely to succeed at, but in which they have to stretch themselves. Each...
Higher Revenue, More Staff ≠ More Advisor Vacation
More revenue and staff don't always lead to more vacation: We examined how an advisor's work habits impact their wellbeing and, with summer just around the corner, how important sustainable work hours and vacations are for advisors to maintain healthy...
Real Conviction Means Persisting When All Funding Vanishes
I don’t ever give up. I’d have to be dead or completely incapacitated.” In 2008, SpaceX was on the brink of bankruptcy after 3 failed launches. His childhood heroes, the men who inspired him to build rockets publicly told him he...
Master Managing Up: Align with Your Manager’s Priorities
Questions you should know the answer to: -What are your manager’s goals at your org? -Exactly what do they need to get promoted? -Outside of revenue, how is your sales leader measured? -Where does your manager think your team’s greatest area of opportunity is? -What’s...
FDA Staff Predicts Low Morale After Makary’s Departure
Here's the last quote from Politico's piece on Makary's abrupt (reportedly soon) exit: “He will not be missed by a single career person,” said an FDA staffer granted anonymity to discuss Makary’s tenure prior to the news of his pending departure....
Embrace Relentless Learning to Unlock Your Best Self
Great read. Helpful to think about what people will get out of working with you. For us, it’s stretching our people to become the best versions of themselves. That’s why our number 1 core value is to be a relentless learner. Make sure...
Curiosity and Emotion Turn Listening Into Quiet Power
Listening is a skill nobody teaches. Start with curiosity. Listen for emotion, not just words. Then pay attention to the room. Do that well, and listening becomes a quiet advantage.
Kindness Compounds Like Investments, Buffett Proves
Buffett built Berkshire on one principle: buy what compounds. He applies the same filter to people. Kindness compounds. It costs nothing today. It returns everything eventually. He's been proving it for 94 years.
CEO Announces Tough Team Restructuring, Employees Brace
Me on the Zoom town hall when the CEO says “we had to make some hard decisions about our team structure”
Leaders Must Stop Ceding Power to Vendors
Leaders are agreeing to clauses that give vendors ultimate decision-making authority, a false sense of security akin to a child's security blanket. It's time for leaders to develop a stronger backbone. #Leadership #BusinessStrategy https://t.co/jFijnrKUD5
Transparency Demands Everyone’s Active, Uncomfortable Participation
For transparency to be a genuine value of an organization, it cannot simply be something you join and benefit from. It requires active participation and contribution from every person in the company. This should stretch everyone. It should feel a...
Ditch Agency Model: Build $1T Software Services
The agency model is dead. If you want to build a $1T services as software company, here’s a starting point: - Reimagining the org chart (with examples) - Going from open loops to E2E workflows to closed loops - Forward deployed employees - and...
Make 1:1s Coaching, Not Data Collection
Great discussion on 1:1s in this thread. To all managers - make them about digging in with your team to help them, not getting you info
Building Trust and Shared Leadership in Education Communities
🔎 Looking to strengthen your educator community? 🎙️ @elanaleoni and I talk about building trust and shared leadership. 🤝 I’m excited to partner with @jotform to share this bonus episode. https://t.co/A8457DdxBw https://t.co/bhiaOhyzco