Case building reaches its worst when we begin to restate opposing viewpoints in language convenient to our own. In a recent meeting I attended, the CIO and SVP of Sales were on opposite sides of an issue in a way pretty predictable for their positions.  Unfortunately the discussion moved to hyperbole as each of them hunkered down for a battle.   They each characterized the other's viewpoint with all ...

It is not often I am jealous... so let's say I am envious. I have just heard David Greene on NPR who may have the greatest gig in the world- at least for me... at least for now. While the political conventions are taking place, Greene is on assignment to travel from Chicago to Phoenix talking to people who are not at the covnentions.  More specifically, talking to leaders.  ...

The building blocks for high performing teams are not a mystery.  Trust, courage, commitment, accountability and focus are all critical.  And I would put trust first.  It is the foundation for each of the others. For a quick example, look at the Beach Volleyball teams we have seen at the Olympic Games.  Two person teams are a great example for team work because there is so little room ...

For golf fans, the PGA was quite dramatic.  Weather was the main competitor and in a surprise finish, Padraig Harrington took his second major in a row.  There are great stories from this year's PGA championship, but my focus is on the upcoming Ryder Cup.  Why?  This event, played every other year, is one of the best laboratories for team performance in the world.  There are always ...

My son got off the airplane from 8 weeks a camp this afternoon wearing mirrored sunglasses, a serious tan and about 4 more inches of height than when he left.  Although he is still young (13 this week) I realized very clearly that if there was any "little boy" in him when he left, it had been squeezed out by hormones and experience.  He regaled us with ...

Both of the candidates for President have talked a lot about leadership.  Actually that is what they have done most- talk about it.  From a leadership point of view, both campaigns (and so far, both candidates) are a bust.  The campaign process itself is fundamentally broken, providing more opportunity for sniping and secrets than for information that would be useful to voters who make decisions on criteria other than ...

What am I pretending not to see or pretending does not matter here? What issues am I creating with this decision that someone else will have to solve? Who will bear the implications of this decision? A year ago this week, the Interstate 35 highway bridge over the Mississippi in Minneapolis collapsed.  It took 13 seconds for the bridge to become a twisted wreck, killing 13 and injuring 100 people.  It ...

My friend, colleague and fellow Georgetown coaching grad David Peck posted this excellent and timely piece about a leaders' obligation to rest on his blog, The Recovering Leader this week.  Excellent because it is a reminder that, as Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr put it, we are well suited for sprints but often treat business as if it were a marathon with no finish line.  Timely because I ...

Can people change, or is leadership development a waste of time and money?  the answer depends on our expectations.  When we think "all or nothing" we lose the opportunity of incremental value. Last month, The Conference Board Review ran an article entitled "Have We Learned Anything About Leadership Development?"  This month, they printed a letter from a veteran of GE's Management Development program who takes issue with the whole ...

Seth Godin uses the airlines as an example on his blog today in an entry titled Bait and Switch.  I would not take issue with any of what he stresses, but I think he has missed an important underlying issue. Seth (in part) talks about being prepared to take the "anger, resentment and brand disintegration" associated with surprise fees and other bait and switch short term tactics.  Later he ...