Originally posted on Linkedin Pulse

Originally posted on Linkedin Pulse

I don't get this whole strengths-based leadership thing.  It smells funny. If you're a baby boomer, I bet it smells funny to you too. Were we completely wrong about "if you don't succeed try, try again"? I guess that's so last century since now we're all just going to win by doing what we're already good at, resulting in better, faster successes with fewer tries. This strengths-based thing is so compelling...reduces stress, reduces the need to train, reduces errors of all kinds, seems intuitive...Can we back up a minute? Remember when your mother told you "if it looks too good to be true, it probably is"? Here's why mom thinks this new trend may be a wolf in sheep's clothing for individuals and for companies...

Originally posted on Linkedin Pulse

Originally posted on Linkedin Pulse

Originally posted on Linkedin Pulse

I recently spoke to The Start Society in it’s iCentral.co space for tech startups in Sydney, and one of the questions I was thrown was: “When you are looking to hire people in your business, how do you do it effectively?”

Anyone who runs a business knows how hard it is to find talent. What's personally harder is letting the same talent go. Doing that feels like a failure.

Originally posted on Linkedin Pulse. 

Entrepreneurship is nothing without risk-taking, as it’s impossible to earn a substantial reward in the business world without an equally substantial risk taken in its pursuit. Risks are intimidating, of course, but that’s what separates the bulk of the population from the inspired, hard-working entrepreneurs who try their best to nurture an idea to success. 

I used to think of an executive assistant as a luxury that only high-powered CEOs in large companies could afford. It seemed silly to pay someone to do something I could do myself, and I figured that it would take more time to explain what I needed than to do it on my own. But as our marketing agency grew, I realized that delegation is not a luxury—it's a necessity. 

Originally posted on Linkedin Pulse. 

My old boss Jon Zakin used to say "You can't save your way to greatness." Too many executives try to save their way to greatness. They pinch pennies instead of inspiring their teammates to do great things.

Originally posted on Linkedin Pulse. 

I was honored to speak at Stanford Graduate School of Business' commencement on Saturday. When I went to Stanford in the late 1980s, I quickly learned that I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I was 26 years old. I had lived in southeast Michigan my entire life. I had worked for General Motors since I was 18.