This is the story of a $200 t-shirt … and company systems gone terribly wrong. Earlier this year, an employee wanted to send a shirt with our logo to a customer as a gift. There was nothing special about this particular shirt. It was an ordinary, 100%-cotton crew neck. But by the time this employee got approval — factoring in his own time and everyone else’s up the org chart who had to weigh in to validate the request — the cost of this t-shirt had ballooned to $200 … if not more.

...but you shouldn't wait 'til the end to find that out.

Yesterday morning I delivered the commencement keynote for Cal Poly's class of 2015 engineers.  Beyond simply being a privilege and an honor to talk to this group, it's also a pretty huge responsibility – and I wanted to leave them with some bit of wisdom that was as far from trivial as I could manifest.  Life is short and we only get one chance to get it right.  Here were my thoughts on how we'll be remembered: 

I'll never forget the first time I read Philippe Petit's story. In August of 1974 he spent 45 minutes making eight passes across a 26' high-wire (1350 feet above the ground) tied across each Twin Tower in NYC. The World Trade Center had just opened. Petit was 24 years old.

Two weeks ago, I had the chance to visit Wisconsin, where I grew up. It’s a state that has obviously been in the news lately in the context of the presidential election. It’s also a state with a rich history of industrial innovation that helped propel the United States to global leadership. The country’s first hydroelectric power plant, built in my home town of Appleton in 1882, helped light the way towards the future that includes the electronic devices we enjoy today. Yet Wisconsin, like many states, also faces new and complex challenges due to the nonstop pace of societal and technological change and the issues that arise with it.

“To market at the speed of culture, you need to be clear on your purpose. Brands that are clear on this can deliver new initiatives quickly because they understand why they are doing it and how it aligns with their brand values.” - Carolyn Bendall, Head of Marketing, ANZ

Every brand has a life cycle. 

One out of every five of my employees won’t be in their roles next year. And I couldn’t be happier.

There are thousands of businesses out there, but how does one get their big break?

Originally posted on Linkedin Pulse.

The role of CEO, like most leadership jobs, is multi-faceted and engaging, no matter the size of the organization. The most effective leaders I admire share that early in their careers, they learned the importance of hiring top talent and creating an environment where that talent is empowered and supported to do the best work of their lives.

Originally posted on Linkedin Pulse. 

I like lists. They keep me organized; they keep me focused. I operate best with lists. From my years writing on this blog, I know my readers like lists, too.